Pakistan players await US visas

Shoaib Akhtar is waiting to leave for America © AFP

The proposed series of matches between an Asian XI and a World XI in Houston have hit another snag as several Pakistani players have said they have yet to receive visas to travel. "I still haven't got a visa to fly to Houston so I don't know whether they are having the matches or not," Shoaib Akhtar, who is currently playing for Worcestershire, told The News.

Shoaib and several others were originally slated to turn out for the Asian XI. Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq were also awaiting visas that would allow them to travel to Houston and play in this series. However, the report indicates that the players were likely to be issued visas in Islamabad over the next few days and that they would fly to America on the 13th or 14th. The one person who has no problems in this case is Yousuf Youhana, who already has a five-year multiple-entry visa to America.

Meanwhile, several promising Pakistani fast bowlers are set to travel to India to train at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai. The Foundation has been a finishing school to cricketers from around the world, and has been preferred to other similar schools thanks to Dennis Lillee's active involvement over the years.

"There is no doubt that when it comes to talent, Pakistan pacers are much higher placed than that of India," a Pakistan Cricket Board official is quoted as saying in The News. "However, what they need is proper coaching and guidance from a renowned coach and expert in the field. If we consider this aspect then there is no better place around than the academy run by Lillee in India." The report names Mohammad Asif, Najaf Shah, Mohammad Irshad, Mohammad Khalil and Wahab Riaz as likely candidates to be selected for the training programme.