There was media speculation aplenty in the hours leading up to the PCB naming it's squad. Surprisingly, it not only named a squad for the Australian series but for the World T20 Championship later this year. This can be perceived to be an attacking cricket shot as some nations, namely England, are yet to name their 30 man preliminary squad as of yet.
Any squad that was going to be named would have had the teams core players. The spine of the team as been retained but a few selections bewilder the mind. Firstly let's look at Kamran Akmal; his in the team for his batting and not his keeping. Though Kamran gives the team the perfect balance, his inclusion could be a real downer if this is a start to his pathway to get back into the ODI and Test side. You may get away with a keeper that can't catch in T20's but never in the longer formats.
The exclusion off Junaid Khan boggles the mind. He has been a consistent performer off late for Pakistan. As he proved, for Pakistan and Lancashire, he has the ability to bowl at the death and be effective whilst at it. What makes his exclusion even worse that Mohammad Sami has been picked. Someone that conceded 17 in his last over of his last ODI, Sami is far too inconsistent to be selected.
By imran Asghar
GeoSuper