Pakistan Team Named for T20 Series Against England

LAHORE: Pakistan Team Named for T20 Series Against England, Kamran Akmal has paid the price for his fumbles during the Australian tour by being dropped from Pakistan’s Twenty20 squad to take on England in Dubai on February 19-20.

The team will be led by Shoaib Malik, who captained in Shahid Afridi’s absence in Melbourne, for both games.

Afridi, Pakistan’s regular Twenty20 captain, has been banned for two matches after being found guilty of ball-tampering in the fifth ODI against Australia in Perth. Having already sat out the Melbourne game, he will miss the first match against England on February 19.

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There are other significant changes to the squad that toured Australia. Abdul Razzaq has replaced Naved-ul-Hasan, and Yasir Arafat has also returned. The fast bowlers Mohammad Talha and Wahab Riaz, with the Pakistan A side to play against the England Lions in Dubai, are also part of the squad, and Mohammad Aamer has been named in the reserves. Aamer picked up a groin injury that ruled him out of the last three ODIs and the Twenty20 in Australia. The selectors have also kept middle-order batsman Aamer Sajjad in the UAE with the senior squad – he is vice-captain of the Pakistan A team – as a reserve along with pacer Rao Iftikhar Anjum.

Pakistan squad: Shoaib Malik (capt), Imran Farhat, Imran Nazir, Khalid Latif, Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Yasir Arafat, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Talha, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul.