Inzamam back in the reckoning

Inzamam-ul-Haq, who has been out of favour with the selectors since the World Cup, is back in the reckoning for Pakistan's home season. He has been included in the list of 20 probables for the forthcoming series against Bangladesh. Aamer Sohail, the former Test opener who is now the chairman of Pakistan's selectors, said: "We never dropped Inzamam but gave him rest, and hope that this rest will do a world of good to him in the coming home season."

Inzamam was one of eight players dumped after Pakistan's disappointing first-round exit from the World Cup in March. But there is no place for Pakistan's then-captain Waqar Younis, who recently said he still wants to play for the country. Sohail explained: "We are focusing on players who we have used in the last four months in our transition phase."

Inzamam said he was delighted to be back in the reckoning: "I was a bit disappointed on being out of the team, but now I am ready for the home season." Inzamam has scored 6214 runs in 85 Tests, plus 8957 in 290 one-dayers. His last Test innings on home soil produced Pakistan's second-highest score - 329, made against New Zealand at Lahore in May 2002. But Inzamam managed only 19 runs in six World Cup games - a phase he described as the worst of his career. But he explained: "Never in this phase I thought of leaving cricket, I have a lot of it left in me."

Pakistan take on Bangladesh, who have lost 20 of their 21 Tests so far, in a three-match series which starts at Karachi on August 20. The Test series will be followed by five one-day internationals, before Pakistan host South Africa in three Tests and three ODIs in September and October. New Zealand also visit for five one-dayers in November.

Pakistan had faced a shortage of players for the Bangladesh series after their fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, allrounder Azhar Mahmood and batsman Younis Khan were allowed to skip the series. Then Mohammad Sami, another fast bowler, was ruled out with an ankle injury he picked up playing county cricket for Kent, which forced the selectors to reverse their earlier decision about Shoaib. Sohail explained: "We had to call Shoaib from England where he was playing county cricket [for Durham] to cover Sami's injury - but we are not taking Bangladesh lightly."

Farhan Adil, an uncapped batsman from Karachi, is tipped to make his debut in the first Test - the squad for which will be named on August 12 - while two other uncapped players called up are Mohammad Khalil, a left-arm fast bowler, and the left-arm spinner Abdul Sattar.

Pakistan preliminary squad Mohammad Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Farhan Adil, Yasir Hameed, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Misbah-ul-Haq, Hasan Raza, Rashid Latif (capt and wk), Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal (wk), Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar, Shabbir Ahmed, Mohammad Khalil, Najaf Shah, Danish Kaneria, Abdul Sattar, Jaffer Nazir.