The selection committee of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), on Wednesday, decided to leave ace-spinner Saeed Ajmal out of the squad for the Tests against Sri Lanka slated to begin later this month. The off-spinner, who returned to action in the ODIs against Bangladesh with a remodelled bowling action, underwhelmed and picked up just the one wicket in 19 overs at an average of 123.
The selectors, however, have reposed their faith on Ahmed Shehzad, Shan Masood and Ehsan Adil, who have all been named in the 15-man squad. The door, however, may not be completely shut on Ajmal after chief selector, Haroon Rashid clarified that ‘other’ players were considered but could not be included and that they still remained on the selectors’ radar.
Opening batsman Ahmed Shehzad was dropped from both the Test and ODI squads following Pakistan’s quarter-final exit from the 2015 World Cup due to disciplinary issues. He was reinstated in the squad for home series against Zimbabwe but failed to make the playing eleven in any of the three games. Meanwhile, Babar Azam, Bilawal Bhatti, Sami Aslam who made the squad for the Bangladesh Tests joined Ajmal on the sidelines.
“The committee considered the player’s suitability to play in varied playing conditions, potential to perform at international level, current form and fitness and performance in the previous tours of Bangladesh and recently concluded Pakistan ‘A’ team’s tour of Sri Lanka and feedback from the team management on the performance of players on Bangladesh tour before finalising the squad,” Rashid was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
Rashid also mentioned that Rahat Ali, Sohail Khan and Sohaib Maqsood were undergoing rehabilitation for injuries sustained and were not available for selection.
Squad: Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Imran Khan, Ehsan Adil
