… no place for Shoaib Malik
LAHORE, Pakistan (ANI): The Pakistan cricket selectors have recalled left-arm paceman Wahab Riaz, batsman Umar Akmal and pace bowler Junaid Khan to the Test squad named for the England series to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next month. Junaid’s final inclusion is, however, subject to his fitness though he has been granted a go-ahead by the PCB medical panel.
But wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and leg-spinner Danish Kaneria have been excluded from the team after failing to get clearance from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) integrity committee over match-fixing suspicions.
Former captain Shoaib Malik has been axed after a poor run against Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Pakistan paceman Mohammad Talha, who has played just one Test in 2009 against Sri Lanka in Lahore, has also been included in the squad.
“There are some players who are dropped and some are recalled but nobody is out of the picture and can be selected only if they perform.
“Malik may have been dropped but he isn’t out of the picture. We have tried to pick the best balanced side possible for the series,” The Daily Times quoted cricket chief selector Mohammad Illyas, as saying.
Illyas said Wahab was included in the Test series after the PCB gave clearance.
He was earlier included in the squad for the Sri Lanka series but was sent home after an undercover reporter told the Southwark Crown Court in London that he was working for agent and spot-fixing convict Mazhar Majeed.
Dubai will host the first and third Tests on January 17 and February 3 respectively, while Abu Dhabi will host the second Test on January 25.
Illyas said the team for the five-match one-day series and three Twenty20 matches against England would be named after the second Test.

Test squad:
Misbahul Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Taufiq Umar, Imran Farhat, Asad Shafiq, Younus Khan, Umar Akmal, Adnan Akmal, Azhar Ali, Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Talha, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman and Junaid Khan.