Defending Champions Pakistan did not name a captain in their final 15-member squad for the Twenty20 World Cup on Friday but included Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal who were fined by the PCB this week.
Chief selector Mohsin Khan told a news conference the selectors had finalised the squad for the World Cup, which starts next month in the West Indies, on the instructions of the cricket board.
“The captain for the team will be announced later on by the board but the PCB has assured us whoever it is will have no objections to the team we have selected,” Mohsin said.
The captaincy has become a major issue after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) this week imposed bans and fines on seven leading players for indiscipline on the recent tour of Australia, including former skippers, Muhammad Yousuf, Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik. Afridi, Kamran and Umar were all fined.
Afridi had been Pakistan”s regular Twenty20 captain since last year after Younis Khan announced his retirement from the form of the sport having led Pakistan to World Cup victory in England.
The selectors have included rookie all rounder Hammad Azam who played in the recent ICC Youth World Cup in New Zealand. They have also recalled Muhammad Hafeez, who last played for Pakistan in September 2007, and Misbah-ul-Haq.
Pakistan squad: Muhammad Hafeez, Salman Butt, Khalid Latif, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Yasir Arafat, Kamran Akmal, Saeed Ajmal, Muhammad Asif, Muhammad Aamer, Umar Gul, Hammad Azam.
