Shoaib gets selectors nod

The Pakistan cricket selectors retained controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar and recalled forgotten man Shadab Kabir in the 16-man squad for Bangladesh tour starting Jan 2.

Shoaib has been named after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) rejected International Cricket Council's offer to utilize the services of West Indian Michael Holding.

Shoaib, currently in Stage 2 after being reported twice this year, will be banned for a year if he gets on the wrong side of the umpires and match referee again in Bangladesh.

Shoaib is presently playing club cricket in Australia and has been given a clean sheet by Western Australia University which also cleared Sri Lankan spinner Muthiah Muralitharan. The PCB has urged the ICC to consider Shoaib as a special case and constitute a medical board to examine the findings of the Perth institution.

The squad includes no surprises and all the players, more or less, select themselves.

Shadab has earned the selectors nod after averaging 48.57 in the Patron's Trophy. He edges out fellow left-hander Imran Farhat who accumulated 733 runs and averaged 56.38.

Shadab last played for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in 1996-97 after making his debut on the 1996 tour to England with Wasim Akram's squad.

Taufiq Umer, who slammed a century on debut against Bangladesh at Multan, was included in the side after he passed a fitness test for a suspected injured knee.

The selectors also decided to make three changes for the one-day squad.

Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik and Azhar Mahmood will bolster the team for the shorter version. They will replace Faisal Iqbal, Danish Kaneria and Mohammad Sami although Faisal may find himself a bit unlucky to be branded only a Test player.

Faisal is an excellent fielder besides being an improvizer. He could have made a one-day player. With Saeed Anwar, Shadab and Taufiq picked as openers and Naved Latif also scoring a century at the top of the order, either of the four could have been dropped to accommodate Faisal.

On the domestic front, wrist spinner Mushtaq Ahmad (39 wickets) and paceman Waqar Ahmad (51 wickets) and Abdur Rauf (50 wickets) might consider themselves unlucky not to earn places. But fact of the matter is that they are tied with Danish Kaneria and a battery of experienced fast bowlers.

Danish captured 12 wickets against Bangladesh at Multan whereas Wasim has 414 Test wickets, Waqar Younis is the captain and Sami and Shoaib are promising future quickies.

Squad: Saeed Anwar, Taufiq Umar, Faisal Iqbal, Inzamamul Haq (vice-captain), Yousuf Youhana, Naved Latif, Younis Khan, Rashid Latif, Saqlain Mushtaq, Danish Kaneria, Waqar Younis (captain), Wasim Akram, Mohammad Sami, Abdur Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Shadab Kabir.

Manager: Yawar Saeed.

Coach: Mudassar Nazar.