Pakistan announce touring squad

Pakistan have named their squad to tour England, and have left out pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar due to injury. A recent scan showed his ankle had still not yet healed fully, and he cannot bowl for four to six weeks, and has been told he must stop bowling at the Pakistani training camp.

Replacing Akhtar is Shahid Nazir, who earns a recall six years after he last represented his country. Nazir is one of seven pace bowlers in the squad, including all rounder Abdul Razzaq. Two of these pace bowlers, Rana Naved and Mohammad Asif, have been putting in impressive performances in county cricket, showing they know how to bowl on English pitches.

Just one specialist spinner is in the squad, Danish Kaneria, but should he suffer Pakistan have all rounders in Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi, or they could recall 35 year-old Mushtaq Ahmed, who regularly puts in incredible performances for Sussex.

Coach Bob Woolmer spoke of his regret at Shaoib’s absence, but Wasim Bari, chairman of selectors, said they could not take a half-fit Shoaib: “The selectors felt it was not right to take a risk with him as we have a lot of matches lined up including next year’s World Cup. He will be considered to join the team later on when he starts bowling again. The selectors have recalled Shahid Nazir as his replacement”

The rest of squad comes as little surprise, and looks to be a good match for England, particularly with their current amount of injuries. Pakistan play four Tests, starting at Lord’s on July 13, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 international.

Pakistan squad:
Inzamam-ul-Haq (c), Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Shoaib Malik, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Faisal Iqbal, Kamran Akmal (wk), Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Sami, Shahid Nazir, Umar Gul, Rana Naved, Mohammad Asif, Danish Kaneria