Naved-ul-Hasan surprised at Twenty20 omission

Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, the Sussex and Pakistan swing bowler, has said that he was surprised at his omission from Pakistan's 30-man squad for the Twenty20 World Championship. The squad will be trimmed to 15 by mid-August and includes Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar and Mohammad Sami in the fast bowling department.

Naved-ul-Hasan, who is enjoying yet another successful season with Sussex, last played for Pakistan in the opening match of the 2007 World Cup against West Indies and was not only dropped for the subsequent matches but also omitted for the tours to Abu Dhabi and Scotland. In between the tours, the team had one training and fitness camp and is currently involved in another, with neither squad involving Naved-ul-Hasan.

"I have not been told anything by anyone," Naved told Cricinfo. "After playing that World Cup match against West Indies, I was told that I will be rested for the following match and I've been unable to get back into the team ever since."

Naved-ul-Hasan, with 40 wickets for Sussex this season, was termed Pakistan's main strike weapon in ODIs during the absence of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif. "I'm definitely disappointed at getting the snub from the selectors especially after getting the Man-of-the-Series award against West Indies [December 2006]. I didn't perform too well on the South Africa tour and had one bad match in the World Cup. However, I don't think that is reason enough for me to be left out altogether."

According to Naved, he had not been given reasons for his exclusion from the squad but was hoping to do well on the county circuit and head back to Pakistan for the domestic season in order to prove his worth to the selectors. "I'm fit and still eager to play for Pakistan. I hope I carry on performing well for Sussex and maybe then the selectors will notice me."