Ijaz and Mushtaq recalled: Sohail and Waqar dropped from Australia-bound team

Karachi, Oct 20: Speed merchant Waqar Younis and flamboyant opener Aamir Sohail were dropped from the 16-man Pakistan cricket squad for the demanding tour of Australia.

The selectors named the side in Sharjah on Wednesday after 100-km man Shoaib Akhtar passed his fitness test.

The selectors recalled veteran batsman Ijaz Ahmad, Mohammad Wasim, spin duo of Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmad, and opener Ghulam Ali for the tour for which the Pakistan cricket team leaves on Saturday from Sharjah.

The first Test starts at Brisbane from Nov 5.

The other changes in the squad presently in Sharjah are of middle-order batsman Hasan Raza, opener Shahid Afridi and spinners Arshad Khan and Shoaib Malik.

Younis was unceremoniously dumped from the squad after the selectors took him to Sharjah as a mere tourist by picking him as the 16th player which ruled him out of contention from a place in the final eleven.

He has now been relegated to reserves list after performing with distinction for the last 10 years.

Aamir Sohail, who was recalled for the Toronto series, virtually lost his place after four poor innings with the bat.

But the apparent contradiction in the selection policy of the selectors can be judged from the fact that they have included Ijaz Ahmad and Mushtaq Ahmad purely on their past performance.

Ijaz, this year, has failed to cross the figure of 25 whether it be in Tests or one-day internationals. It was chiefly because of his recent performances that he was not named in a list of 26 probables for the tour of Sharjah and Australia. But he is in the side because of his five centuries against Australia, including two in Australia.

Similarly, Mushtaq Ahmad, who has played just one Test and one one-day international this year, has been retained in the side after he captured 18 wickets in the last two Tests on the 1995-96 tour of Australia.

If the two players can be picked on past performance, it is anybody's guess if Waqar Younis, who has 287 Test wickets to his credit, and Aamir Sohail, scorer of over 3,500 Test runs, doesn't deserve a call for the tour which is said to be the most gruelling one for Pakistan in the last five years.

The other point to be noted here is that Waqar Younis has been omitted to accommodate Mohammad Akram, an injury-prone bowler who missed almost all the season last year. Besides, Akram's last appearance for Pakistan was more than two years back. He though toured Africa early last year, yet failed to appear in any games after being hurt in an accident in Johannesburg.

Opener Ghulam Ali has been preferred over Aamir Sohail. Not to belittle Ghulam Ali's talent, his choice is mindboggling as the selectors have not only weakened the openers department, they have picked a batsman whose last appearance for Pakistan was about five years ago.

Ghulam Ali was a member of the team that toured South Africa where Pakistan were bundled out for 43 at Cape Town - the lowest score in a one-day international. He then played in the Asia Cup at Sharjah in 1995 before being sidelined.

Ghulam Ali, an attractive batsman, nevertheless, earned the selectors nod after his 360 runs, including five half centuries in the National One-day Championship which saw his team - Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) - win the tournament for a record seventh time.

Sohail's exclusion leaves only Saeed Anwar as an experienced opener with Wajahatullah Wasti in the process of establishing himself as a successor to Aamir Sohail and Ghulam Ali with no Test experience at all.

Similarly, Mohammad Wasim has been brought out of the blue to replace Hasan Raza who showed a lot of promise, guts and potential while scoring 76 at Sharjah against the West Indies on Tuesday.

Hasan Raza, the youngest Test player, who has blossomed into one of the brightest future prospects in recent times, when toured Australia with the Pakistan Under-19 a couple of years ago, had slammed three centuries in as many four-day unofficial `Tests'. He had scores of 132, 131 and 109. Besides, he also scored a century in one of the three one-day games.

According to a member of the ad hoc committee, requesting not to be identified, Wasim has been picked as a standby wicket-keeper to Moin Khan after the selectors rejected Rashid Latif despite assurances by the ad hoc committee chairman and chief selector that he would be touring Australia.

Interestingly, Rashid Latif is not even part of the five-player reserve list. The selectors have picked Pakistan Reserves' Atiquz Zaman as a standby wicket-keeper.

The other sad part of the selection is the omission of Shahid Afridi. Afridi, in his debut Test against Australia, captured five wickets at Karachi, and then slammed a sparkling and matchwinning 139 against India at Chinnai earlier this year. It is anybody's guess if a player deserves the sack despite having five wickets and a century in the five Tests he has played so far.

Had the team been selected on records of recent past and keeping aside personal interests, a more balanced and formidable combination could have been named. Instead, a combination of vulnerable openers and unreliable middle-order was announced which indicates that the selectors overlooked Pakistan batsmen's deficiency in getting runs on hard and bouncy tracks.

"We found Shoaib Akhtar absolutely fit to withstand the gruelling tour of Australia," Pakistan chief selector Col Naushad Ali said.

"All members of the squad have been approved by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)," he added.

"Ijaz has been included because he has always fared well in Australia, while there was a tie between Waqar and Mohammad Akram and we opted for the latter since he is in good form," Ali said.

"Still, a lot of cricket is left in Waqar and he may return for future tours," said Ali, who headed a three-man selection committee completed by Rameez Raja and Abdul Raqeeb.

Ghulam Ali is included as an opener because "he scored tons of runs in domestic cricket", Ali said.

Asked what would happen if President Tarrar recommends action against any player midway through the tour, Naushad said: "We cannot go on ifs and buts."

Wasim Akram (captain), Moin Khan (vice-captain), Saeed Anwar, Wajahatullah Wasti, Ijaz Ahmad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Mohammad Wasim, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmad, Shoaib Akhtar, Shabbir Ahmad, Mohammad Akram, Abdur Razzak and Azhar Mahmood.

Manager: Yawar Saeed. Coach: Richard Pybus. Physiotherapist: Dale Naylor

Waqar Younis, Shahid Afridi, Hasan Raza, Atiquz Zaman and Shoaib Malik.

Oct 26: one-dayer v ACB Chairman's XI at Lilac Hill

Oct 27: one-dayer v Western Australia at Perth

Oct 30-Nov 2: four-dayer v Queensland at Border Field

Nov 5-9: first Test at Brisbane

Nov 12-15: four-dayer v South Australia at Adelaide

Nov 18-22: second Test at Hobart

Nov 26-30: third Test at Perth