Pakistan have left veteran Younis Khan out of their one-day squad
Wednesday 24 September 2014 14:24, UK
Hugely experienced batsman Younis Khan has been left out of the Pakistan squad for next month’s one-day international series against Australia in the United Arab Emirates.
The 36-year-old, who has played 254 ODIs, was recalled to the side for the August series in Sri Lanka, having been left out since March 2013, and he played in the first game before returning home due to the death of his nephew.
However, he has now been omitted once again, which represents a major blow to his stated aim of playing in the World Cup, which is in Australia and New Zealand next year, and gets underway in February.
Chief selector Moin Khan said: “Younis has been dropped as part of a strategy to look forward to the future but the doors are not closed on him.
"There is little time left before the World Cup, so the selectors have decided to try and give more exposure to the new and younger players.
“We have recalled some young players like Umar Amin and Reza Hasan to bolster the squad, but this does not take anything away from the service Younis has given to the Pakistan team.”
Younis said: "I will do my best to force my way back into the ODI side, I have no plans to retire from this format as yet.”
The 24-year-old Amin is a stylish left-hander who has played four tests, 14 ODIs and nine T20 matches.
And Hazan, a 22-year-old left-arm spinner, represented Pakistan in T20s two years ago and took six wickets in seven matches, before being troubled by a back injury.
Pakistan are currently without off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, the world’s top-ranked one-day international bowler, who has been suspended from international cricket due to an illegal bowling action.
Saad Nasim, a leg spinner-batsman, has been called into the T20 squad and is the only uncapped player to have been selected.
Pakistan will play the Aussies in a one-off T20 match on 5 October, before a three-match one-day series over the course of the following week, with the first Test due to start on 22 October.
One-day squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (Capt), Muhammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal, Umar Amin, Sohaib Maqsood, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Reza Hasan, Muhammad Irfan, Anwar Ali, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan.
T20 squad: Shahid Afridi (Capt), Ahmed Shehzad, Muhammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Umar Amin, Sohaib Maqsood, Owais Zia, Saad Nasim, Reza Hasan, Muhammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Bilawal Bhatti, Anwar Ali, Sohail Tanvir.
