Selectors recall Taufeeq Umar for Peshawar match

BY : A CORRESPONDENT.
Pacer Rao Iftikhar, batsman Misbah-ul-Haq dropped from 15-man squad for third one-dayer against India to be held on Friday

RAWALPINDI: The regular Test opener Taufeeq Umar has been recalled to the Pakistan one-day squad for the third One-day International against India in Peshawar on Friday.

The left-hander whose last one-day appearance for Pakistan was in May 2003 in Sri Lanka is the only addition to the squad that has been reduced to 15 players after the selectors released seamer Rao Iftikhar and batsman Misbah-ul-Haq.

Chief selector Wasim Bari said both the players had been told to go and play in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy matches and if required would be called up again for the series.

"We decided to reduce the number of players to 15 because that is enough for a match. We felt it would be better if Rao and Misbah kept in practice by playing for their respective teams in the domestic matches," Bari said.

Both didn’t get a chance to play in the first two games against India.

But sources close to the selectors said that Iftikhar who has emerged as the highest wickettaker this domestic season is being prepared for the test series against India.

"Rao is an excellent swing bowler and has a very potent outswinger. The selectors feel it would be better to blood him in the Test matches than in the one-day series where bowlers who have a strong outswing generally tend to take some beating from the batsmen," the source said.

The source said the selectors had been very impressed with Rao’s talents in the nets.

Bari said that the team for the last two one-day games in Lahore would be announced later on.

"I think we have got a balanced outfit for the Peshawar match which is very important for us," Bari said and added that Taufeeq had been selected because of his hundred against India in the warm up match in Lahore last week.

The chief selector was very pleased with the performance of allrounder Shahid Afridi on his comeback to the Pakistan team.

"I think he has give the captain more bowling options and he has shown that having been out of the team has made him a more determined player," he added.

The Pakistan squad: Yasir Hameed, Shahid Afridi, Imran Farhat, Inzamam-ul-Haq (Capt), Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Moin Khan, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik, Taufeeq Umar, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Shabbir Ahmed, Saqlain Mushtaq and Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan.

- Source : The News International, Pakistan.

Thursday, March 18, 2004.
source : © UAEcricket.com.