Saleem Elahi pulled out of Sharjah squad

The National Selection Committee has withdrawn Saleem Elahi from next month's one-day tournament in Sharjah. The series will be played between April 3 and 10.

"We are sad for Saleem Elahi because we sincerely wanted to retain him in the team as we thought he was improving and would learn more under the wings of someone like Javed Miandad. But despite our several requests to the organizers of the tournament, 16th player was not allowed because of tournament rules," a spokesman of the selection committee said.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has received two itineraries of the rescheduled Sharjah Cup. The format of the competition depends on the availability of Zimbabwe.

If Zimbabwe agree, it would be a quadrangular tournament to be played on single league basis. However, if the Cricketers Benefit Fund Series (CBFS) fail to get Zimbabwe, the tournament will be a triangular event to be played on double league basis.

In any case, Pakistan has been scheduled to play back-to-back matches on April 3 and 4. The Pakistan cricket team will now leave for Sharjah on April 1 and the players whose teams reach the March 31 final of the NBP Patron's Cup One-day Cricket Tournament will be allowed to represent their departments.

Samiul Hasan
General Manager - Media
Moble + 92 300 8424 389
27 March 2003