Pakistan: Fifteen probables dropped (30 December 1998)

30 December 1998

Pakistan: Fifteen probables dropped

By Our Sports Reporter

KARACHI, Dec 29: Pakistan cricket selectors dropped 15 players they had selected only 24 hours before for the training camp starting at Lahore from Thursday.

The dropped players are: Hasan Adnan, Shabbir Ahmad, Faisal Iqbal, Azhar Shafiq, Akhtar Sarfaraz, Taufeeq Umar, Sajid Shah, Ijaz Ahmad Junior, Mohammad Akram, Shadab Kabir, Sarfaraz Ahmad, Kashif Ibraheem, Mohammad Ali, Jafar Nazir and Zahid Fazal.

Two new names were added to the revised list. They are: Aamir Nazir and Imran Nazir, both with no significant performance. Ali Raza and Nadeem Iqbal who captured more than 40 wickets each in the Patron's Trophy were completely ignored.

Ali Naqvi, the opener who scored a century on his debut last season, and Ali Husain Rizvi have also failed to attract the attention of the selectors who have now asked 42 players to attend the training camp.

There was more confusion when the chairman of selectors Wasim Bari said the players left out were those who were attending the Sarfaraz Nawaz camp which will now continue at Islamabad instead of Lahore.

On the contrary, Mohammad Wasim, Fazl-i-Akbar, Wajahatullah Wasti, Abdul Razzak have been asked to attend the Lahore camp though they were participating in the fast bowlers clinic.

The chief executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Majid Khan, said although the allowances of the players have not been finalized, but he was expecting Rs 85,000 to be spent daily on the camp that includes the lodging, boarding and travelling.

Insiders in the board said that the selectors reduced the list from 55 to 42 on the pursuance of the PCB chairman Khalid Mahmood and secretary Waqar Ahmad. "The two wanted that more players should be dropped but the selectors insisted that they can't reduce the number to less than 42," sources said.

"The dropped players were called for the camp just to give them exposure. They were never in the reckoning for the Indian tour," chief selector Wasim Bari said.

Bari said the players would not be discouraged when they will see their names missing from the new list. "They shouldn't be discouraged. We wanted to give them an opportunity to play with the best players. But unfortunately, the PCB said they can't handle 55 players. That's the reason we have short-listed the probables."

Bari said he would try to see players like Ali Raza and Nadeem Iqbal who have excelled in the Patron's Trophy. "I will see into their record. Let me see how many they have dismissed and which batsmen, he said.

Bari said the selection committee would see the probables in action from Friday and will downsize the players to 25 on Jan 3.

"If the weather doesn't improve, I would suggest the chairman to shift the camp to Karachi so that maximum time can be cashed."

Saeed Anwar, Aamir Sohail, Naveed Qureshi, Ijaz Ahmad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Salim Malik, Moin Khan, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmad, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Waqar Younis, Arshad Khan, Shakeel Ahmad, Saeed Azad, Asif Mujtaba, Shahid Nazir, Rashid Latif, Azhar Mahmood, Ijaz Mahmood, Wajahatullah Wasti, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Husain, Humayun Farhat, Javed Qadeer, Abdul Razzak, Aamir Wasim, Zafar Jadoon, Sohail Jaffar, Iqbal Imam, Mohammad Zahid, Nadeem Khan, Mohammad Wasim, Fazl-i-Akbar, Hasan Raza, Aqib Javed, Amjad Ali, Shahid Qambrani, Aamir Nazir, Imran Nazir, Javed Sami.

Source :: Dawn (https://dawn.com/)