Faisal Iqbal to lead Academy team

The Pakistan Academy and U-19 teams for the tours of South Africa and Sri Lanka were announced on Thursday. Aamer Sohail, Pakistan's chief selector, made the announcement earlier than anticipated, after watching the performances of players in the U-19 inter-district tournament. He consulted with the other selectors before deciding on the final squads. Both teams will attend a training camp at the National Cricket Academy, which starts July 25.

The U-19 team is scheduled to tour Sri Lanka between August 10 and 29, and will play two three-day matches, a two-day match and three limited-overs games against the Sri Lanka U-19 Development Squad.

The Academy team is to tour South Africa from Aug 5 to 25, to play two four-day and three one-day matches against South Africa's Academy side. Faisal Iqbal, who has Test experience and is the nephew of Javed Miandad, will lead the Academy team, while Khalid Latif captains the U-19s.

Junaid Zia, a pace bowler whose doubtful action has been modified under the PCB's guidance, has been named vice-captain of the Academy side. Incidentally, Junaid is the son of the PCB chairman, Lt Gen. Tauqir Zia.

While announcing the teams, Sohail said, "We understand that some deserving boys might have missed out on selection. But we have a few tours in line, and I can assure you that we will try to accommodate all the talented boys in future teams".

ACADEMY: Salman Butt, Faisal Athar, Bilal Asad, Naved Latif, Faisal Iqbal (captain), Asim Kamal, Junaid Zia (vice-captain), Adnan Akmal (wicket-keeper), Mansoor Amjad, Yasir Ali, Fahad Masood, Abdur Rauf, Khaqan Arsal, Sohail Ahmed. Manager: Azhar Zaidi. Coach: Naved Anjum. Physio: Dr Sohail Saleem.

UNDER-19: Khalid Latif (captain), Jahangir Mirza, Shahid Yousuf (vice-captain), Yasir Arafat, Shahid Siddiq, Afaq Raheem, Salman Qadir, Naeem Ahmed (Wicket-Keeper), Mohammad Altaf, Adeel Malik, Aamer Yousuf, Hidayatullah, Nasir Jamshed, Riaz Afridi. Manager: Sultan Rana. Coach: Aaqib Javed.

PAKISTAN ACADEMY IN SOUTH AFRICA:
Aug 8-11: 1st four-day match
Aug 14-17: 2nd four-day match
Aug 21: 1st one-day match
Aug 22: 2nd one-day match
Aug 24: 3rd one-day match

PAKISTAN UNDER-19 IN SRI LANKA:
Aug 12-13: Two-day match vs Under-17 Development Squad
Aug 15-17: Three-day match vs Under-19 Development Squad
Aug 20-22: Three-day match vs Under-19
Aug 24: 1st one-day match vs Under-19
Aug 26: 2nd one-day match vs Under-19
Aug 28: 3rd one-day match vs Under-19