PCB chief to get 14-man list for Singapore today

Karachi: The 14-man team for this month's Singapore triangular series will be submitted to the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Lt Gen Tauqir Zia on Saturday.

The general is due tomorrow evening and as per schedule, would approve and announce the squad. However, there was still doubt whether the captain would also be named the same day.

The advisory panel of the PCB is meeting on Tuesday and there is a possibility that if a consensus was not reached on Saturday, the matter may be deferred for the routine moot.

Not many changes are expected in the team that participated in the triangular series in Sri Lanka. Moin Khan and Inzamam-ul-Haq are not being considered for selection on fitness grounds.

However, all is set for the return on Ijaz Ahmad to the national squad.While one section of opinion is opposed to his inclusion on the pretext that if the team can win three out of four tournaments without him, it can also play in the Singapore series. Nevertheless, the other argument is that the team needs to have an experienced batsmen in the middle of the batting since Inzamam is not available.

The players are:

Saeed Anwar, Imran Nazir, Ijaz Ahmad, Yousuf Youhana, Hasan Raza, Younis Khan, Atiq-ur-Zaman (wicketkeeper), Azhar Mahmood, Abdur Razzaq, Waqar Younis, Arshad Khan and Shoaib Malik.

Shahid Afridi and Mushtaq Ahmad are contesting for the 13th place while pacemen Mohammad Akram and Kabir Khan are vying for the final berth.

Kabir Khan deserves a chance after being ignored in the recent times despite being the most successful bowler of the 1998-1999 capturing a record 130 wickets. In the 1999-2000 season, he picked up 51 wickets. He has been overlooked while others having poorer performances received preference.

Besides, being a left-arm he gives an additional force to the bowling attack.

As regards Mushtaq and Shahid, both merit selections because of different reasons. The Padang, the venue of the matches, is a small centre and even Shahid Afridi's mishits would help him clear the fence. Sanath Jayasuriya, in the 1996 tournament, had utilized the short boundaries while blasting 11 sixes in his 141 against Pakistan. In addition to this, Shahid is a useful wrist spinner and perhaps one of the two best fielders after Imran Nazir in the team.

Since Pakistan's opponents - South Africa and New Zealand - are considered vulnerable against quality spinners, Mushtaq Ahmad can make a huge difference to Pakistan's prospects in the absence of frontline players. In addition to this, Mushtaq was one of the prime performers in the triangular tournament in the West Indies where he finished as the leading wicket-taker.

With Pakistan to play three matches, two if they don't qualify for the Aug 28 final, inclusion of two off-spinners reflects an unwise cricketing approach.