Good in Whites Only? The selection committee headed by Moin Khan axed Younis Khan from Pakistan's ODI team.
© AFP
Lahore: Pakistan on Wednesday dropped experienced but out-of-form batsman Younis Khan from the one-day squad for next month's limited-overs series against Australia in the United Arab Emirates. (Also read: Shahid Afridi fined for being unfit )
The Pakistan Cricket Board selection committee headed by former captain Moin Khan announced separate squads for the only Twenty20 international in Dubai on October 5 and the three subsequent one-day internationals. (Pakistan selection committee ruined Umar Akmal's career: Kamran )
The squad for the two Tests will be announced later.
Younis Khan, 36, has had an extended run of poor form in the one-day format, with his last hundred coming in 2008.
He later told reporters in Karachi: "I will make an important announcement on Friday," leading to speculation his retirement from the one-day game may be imminent.
Younis was included in the one-day squad for the Sri Lanka series last month after a gap of 17 months, but managed just three in the first match before he was forced to return home after his nephew died.
The most serious challenge for selectors was to find a replacement for off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, who was suspended from all international cricket after his action was found to be illegal.
Ajmal had almost single-handedly shouldered Pakistan's attack in all three formats of the game and is still the number one bowler in the one-day rankings.
Left-arm spinner Raza Hasan replaces Ajmal, a step Khan said was taken after serious consideration.
"I am sure Hasan will do his best to replace Ajmal, which is not an easy task because Ajmal's performances are great and it won't be easy to fill his void," he said.
Hasan, 22, played all seven of his previous Twenty20 internationals in the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka two years ago but was subsequently sidelined due to a back problem.
Left-hander Umar Amin stages a comeback in both teams after being dropped from the team in 2013.
Pakistan's Twenty20 squad also includes uncapped Saad Nasim, a leg-spinning all-rounder, while dashing left-handed opener Awais Zia is also recalled.
Zia, 28, played three Twenty20 internationals against England in 2012 but managed only 47 runs before being discarded. His recent form in the domestic Twenty20 tournament in which he hit a century earned him a recall.
Pakistan and Australia play the only Twenty20 in Dubai on October 5 while the three one-day internationals are in Sharjah (October 7), Dubai (October 10) and Abu Dhabi (October 13).
Squad: (Twenty20): Shahid Afridi (captain), Ahmed Shahzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Umar Amin, Sohaib Maqsood, Awais Zia, Saad Nasim, Raza Hasan, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Bilawal Bhatti, Anwar Ali, Sohail Tanvir.
One-day: Misbah-ul Haq (captain), Ahmed Shahzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Fawad Alam, Umar Amin, Umar Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Sohaib Maqsood, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Raza Hasan, Mohammad Irfan, Anwar Ali, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan.
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