Veteran batsman Younis not named in ‘new and younger’ ODI, T20 Pak squad
Veteran batsman Younis Khan failed to find a spot in the ODI team as Pakistan announced the squads for the upcoming one-day and Twenty20 series with Australia.
The Pakistan-Australia series, comprising one T20 and three ODI matches, is scheduled to kick off on October 5 in the United Arab Emirates.
Chief selector Moin Khan announced the ODI squad for Pakistan on Wednesday and Younis was not named as part of the team. The squads were initially going to be announced on Tuesday but had to be postponed for a day in light of the disagreement over the veteran batsman’s inclusion in the ODI squad.
Younis was recalled to the side for the August ODI series in Sri Lanka, but as bad luck would have it he had to return home owing to the death of his nephew, The Dawn reported.
Younis, who is also a former skipper for Pakistan, has played 254 ODIs but the selectors have sidelined him since March 2013 because of his inconsistent performance in the last few games.
Moin said that Younis has been dropped as part of a strategy to look forward to the future but the doors are not closed on him, adding that there is little time left before the World Cup so the selectors have decided to try out and give more exposure to the new and younger players.
Younis, despite having an impressive batting average of 51 in 91 tests, has not been as effective in ODIs, scoring 7017 runs at an average of 31. But the batsman revealed that he had not given up hope of playing at the World Cup.
Younis said that he would do his best to force his way back into the ODI side, adding that he has no plans to retire from this format as yet.
The selectors also ignored experienced pacer Umar Gul for the ODI and T20 squads and dropped left arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar.
Moin said that while announcing the two squads the main thrust was on the World Cup, which is why they have focused on youngsters like Saad Nasim, a leg spinner-batsman who is the only uncapped player in the two squads.
Moin said that they have also recalled some young players like Umar Amin and Raza Hasan to bolster the squad, but this does not take anything away from the service Younis has given to the Pakistan team.
Pakistan have also recalled opener Ovais Zia for the T20 match after he last played against England in the same format in early 2012.
The players selected for the teams are:
T20 14 members: Shahid Afridi (Captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohd Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Umar Amin, Sohaib Maqsood, Owais Zia, Saad Naseem, Raza Hasan, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Bilawal Bhatti, Anwar Ali, Sohail Tanvir,
ODI 15 members: Misbahul Haq (Captain), Ahmed Shahzad, Mohd Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Fawad Alam, Umar Amin, Asaf Shafiq, Sohaib Maqsood, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Raza Hasan, Mohd Irfan, Anwar Ali, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan.
