Pakistan National News

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Shahid Afridi has been named Pakistan's Test and ODI captain ahead of a busy summer which takes in the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and then six Tests, five ODIs, as well as four T20Is, in England against Australia and the hosts. Pakistan's board and selectors also opened the door on a possible return for Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik, two men only recently banned by the board for indiscipline. Another old hand at the indiscipline game, Shoaib Akhtar, has been called up in a 35-man list of probables, which will be culled down before the two events.

Probables: Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Khurram Manzoor, Shahzaib Hassan, Azhar Ali, Azeem Ghumman, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Faisal Iqbal, Fawad Alam, Hasan Raza, Asad Shafiq, Umar Amin, Aamer Sajjad, Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi (capt), Abdul Razzaq, Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Sami, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, Tanvir Ahmed, Aizaz Cheema, Danish Kaneria, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Zulfiqar Babar, Kamran Akmal (wk), Zulqarnain Haider (wk)

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Umar Gul is unlikely to be part of Pakistan's Asia Cup campaign in Sri Lanka as a result of a lingering shoulder injury. He should, however, be fit in time for the tour to England later this summer. Gul injured his right shoulder when he fell awkwardly during a training camp for the World Twenty20 and subsequently missed the tournament.

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Former Pakistan players, Aamer Sohail and Abdul Qadir, have criticised the decision taken by arbitrator Irfan Qadir to overturn Shoaib Malik's one-year ban and cut his fine by half. Speculation in Pakistan has suggested that political pressure was brought to bear on the PCB regarding Malik's ban.
"By lifting the ban on Malik, the PCB has succumbed to political pressures," Qadir, a former chief selector, said. "If the board had taken a strong decision, it should have stuck to it come what may, but their decision will now encourage the players to violate discipline and get away with it."
Since Malik had been pardoned, Qadir said, the PCB would have to do the same with the other players. "Now it's the duty of the board to clear other players also because it will be blamed to have done preferential treatment to one player after Malik is cleared," he said.
Sohail called the decision a "hasty" one. "To hide its own incompetence, the PCB targeted the players and, after pressures from outside, they abruptly lifted the ban."
The PCB had banned Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf, from playing for Pakistan in any format for an indefinite period, while handing out one-year bans to Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan following the team's disastrous tour of Australia in 2009-10. Shahid Afridi and the Akmal brothers were fined Rs 2-3 million [$24,000-35,000] for various misdemeanours and put on six-month probations.
The charge against Malik was never clearly explained by the inquiry committee that decided on the punishment but it was widely thought to be for what a number of management officials and players called his negative influence on the side. This was confirmed in a subsequently leaked video of the inquiry committee meetings, in which Malik's role within the squad was blasted by a number of players including Afridi and Yousuf.

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I've always wondered what's happened to Hasan Raza. Hasn't played a Test since 2005, and owing to his name in the list, must not be part of that "enemy" ICL. http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/40378.html

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I've always wondered what's happened to Hasan Raza. Hasn't played a Test since 2005, and owing to his name in the list, must not be part of that "enemy" ICL. http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/40378.html

Playing plenty of First Clas and List A cricket in Pakistan though

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As was widely expected, the PCB has reduced or written off the punishments of four players who the board had only recently found guilty of various misdemeanours in the aftermath of an ill-fated, winless Australian tour over the turn of this year. The indefinite ban on former captain Younis Khan was lifted, the Rs 3 million fine on captain Shahid Afridi, for ball-tampering, was revoked entirely, while the fines on the Akmal brothers for acts of indiscipline were reduced.

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The door has been left open for Mohammad Yousuf to return to international cricket by a board that has already provided relief to five of his fellow players it penalised so heavily in the aftermath of a winless tour of Australia. Irfan Qadir, the independent arbitrator hearing the appeals, asked the board to reconsider the ban on Yousuf so that he is "treated at par with the other players in these appeals." In response, the PCB said it had sent messages out to Yousuf that he should return.

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Pakistan have not selected former captain Younis Khan, whose indefinite ban was recently overturned, in their Test and Twenty20 squads for the tour of England between June and September. Fast bowler Umar Gul has recovered from his shoulder injury and makes a comeback after missing the ICC World Twenty20 and the Asia Cup

Twenty20 squad: Salman Butt, Shahzaib Hasan, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Umar Amin, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Aamer, Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Wahab Riaz, Fawad Alam.


Test squad: Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Azhar Ali, Umar Akmal, Umar Amin, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Zulqarnain Haider, Kamran Akmal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Asif, Wahab Riaz, Tanvir Ahmed, Danish Kaneria, Saeed Ajmal.

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Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan middle-order batsman, has plans to quit international cricket at the end of next year if the national selectors continue to ignore him. Misbah was dropped for the ongoing tour of England in favour of rookie players like Azhar Ali and Umar Amin, and his central contract with the PCB expires in December.

"I know luck is not favouring me these days and with the youngsters making their way into the squad, I was forced to think again," Misbah told the Express Tribune. "As a player, I feel sad to make such a decision but one day I had to decide when to call it a day.

"I am 36 and feel fit enough for the international arena. I'm seeking an opportunity to play the 2011 World Cup in a bid to end my international cricket on a high note. But if I'm unable to find a place in the national squad, I always have an opportunity in the domestic circuit to do so."


LALA

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I looked at his stats. For a 36 year old with his achievements, the article should have read, "Misbah-ul-haq, former Panikstan middle-order batsman, has retired from international cricket." End article...
cricinfo could have posted it on twitter, such is what DOESN'T need to be said about it.

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The "lala" probably wanst very clear on my post was it, but just give it up..Misbah

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The "lala" probably wanst very clear on my post was it, but just give it up..Misbah

Good thing he didnt

Misbah-ul-Haq has been appointed Pakistan's captain for the two-Test series against South Africa in Abu Dhabi in November. He becomes the fourth man, after Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi and Salman Butt, to lead Pakistan in Tests in 2010 alone, and the decision completes a remarkable and typically Pakistani comeback; earlier this year, after the Australia tour, he had been dropped from all formats of the game. In July, he was contemplating retirement.

Instead, he will now lead a 15-man squad which includes Mohammad Sami, opener Taufeeq Umar, Danish Kaneria - each of them recalled - and a first time Test call-up for Asad Shafiq, who impressed in his debut ODI series against England recently.

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At least Misbah knows his place (he was the best available )

Pakistan recalled Misbah-ul-Haq to the Test side and installed him as captain primarily because Younis Khan was not cleared for selection by the PCB, the chief selector Mohsin Khan has said.

"We needed a senior player to strengthen our batting line-up," Mohsin told the News. "Our first choice was Younis Khan but we didn't get any clearance [from the PCB], after which we discussed the option of recalling Misbah and decided to go for it."

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Why do they even bother banning them..the ban are always overturned/reduced

The one-year ban on Rana Naved-ul-Hasan was lifted on Saturday by the PCB, clearing the way for the fast bowler to be considered for national selection once again.

Rana was one of seven players banned or fined earlier this year by the board following a disastrous tour to Australia; the other six have already had their punishments lifted or reduced on appeal - Mohammad Yousuf did not appeal but is back in the national fold - and this decision means that each one of the seven has now been pardoned. Rana and Younis Khan apart, the others have all played for Pakistan since.

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Pakistan's chief selector, Mohsin Khan, has defended the decision to name squads for the upcoming series against South Africa without consulting the captain or the coach.

"Let me clarify that it is not written down in the PCB constitution that the coach and captain(s) must have a say in the selection of any squad," he told the website PakPassion.net. "My selection committee and I were asked by the PCB management to select squads for the series against South Africa, so we did that. We were asked by the PCB management to select a squad at short notice, because of the logistics of the series in the UAE and the travel arrangements of the team had to be sorted out very quickly."

Both limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi and coach Waqar Younis have complained that their inputs on team composition weren't taken

Never dull times in Pakistani cricket

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The Pakistan players will sign a revised code of conduct with a strong emphasis on anti-corruption ahead of the upcoming tour to UAE, team manager Intikhab Alam has said. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) revised its standard touring code following harsh criticism from the ICC over the spot-fixing controversy and the board's handling of the issue.


"There are one or two things that are new in this code of conduct for touring," Intikhab told ESPNcricinfo. "We have tightened up on indiscipline and have reiterated that there will be zero tolerance for it. There are a couple of new points about corruption, being wary of agents and a few other things."

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The PCB has barred Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir from using the National Cricket Academy in Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium for training. A board spokesman told ESPNcricinfo that the trio had been sent letters notifying them they can't use the facilities until the resolution of the spot-fixing scandal, for which the three were provisionally suspended by the ICC.

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The long-running battle between Younis Khan and the Pakistan board has finally been resolved, after a meeting between the former captain and Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman. Younis, a former Pakistan captain, was cleared for selection almost immediately and picked in the limited-overs squad for the series against South Africa in the UAE later this month.

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Salman Butt, the former Pakistan captain, has questioned the reliability of the News of the World sting, claiming Mazhar Majeed, an agent who handled his marketing and promotions, and features in the video, could have made exaggerated claims "to show his authority".

Butt, along with fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, has been provisionally suspended by the ICC for his alleged involvement in the spot-fixing controversy. His appeal will be heard in Dubai on October 30 and 31.

"I do not want to comment on The News of the World because everybody knows what kind of paper it is," Butt told Associated Press. "Everybody knows about its reputation across the world."Butt said that Majeed "must have made lots of claims ... clearly exaggerating things to show his authority."

"I think he might have said a lot of things in that video because it was edited. So nobody knows what has gone wrong in that video."

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Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir remain provisionally suspended by the ICC on charges of spot-fixing after their appeals were rejected during a two-day hearing in Dubai.

Michael Beloff, the ICC code of conduct commissioner who chaired the hearing, said the players - who cannot appeal this verdict - will now appear before an independent anti-corruption tribunal that will look into the actual charges and give a verdict on whether the players are innocent or guilty.

"Having considered every aspect of the case I dismiss their appeals and they remain suspended," Beloff told reporters outside ICC headquarters. "The players have denied the charges, but they will remain suspended before a code of conduct commission is formed to hear the case.