Riaz returns for England series

KARACHI: Left-arm pacer Wahab Riaz was on Monday recalled by national selectors to strengthen Pakistan’s pace battery for the challenging three-match Test series against world numbers ones England getting underway in Abu Dhabi from January 17.
Wahab, who hasn’t played for Pakistan since the Basseterre Test against the West Indies last May, is one of the five fast bowlers picked in the 16-man squad for the English assignment.
Also back in squad is flamboyant middle-order batsman Umar Akmal. The diminutive youngster was dropped from the Test squad after the Bulawayo Test against Zimbabwe in September after a spate of unimpressive outings.
However, a series of impressive outings in One-day Internationals which saw Umar smashing four fifties in seven outings against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh paved the path for his Test return.
The national selectors spearheaded by Mohammad Ilyas, the interim chief selector, have opted to axe former captain Shoaib Malik. The seasoned allrounder failed to justify his selection after he was recalled for the series against Zimbabwe following a one-year hiatus.
Since his return, Malik managed to score just 35 runs from six one-day appearances. During the last four months, he has also been a part of Pakistan’s Test squad but was not fielded for a single match.
Meanwhile, young pacer Junaid Khan has been brought back at the expense of Mohammad Khalil, who was a part of the touring party that swept the series in Bangladesh. Khalil, however, did not play a single match in Bangladesh.
Junaid, the left-armer who is seen as a potential match-winner, was forced to miss the tour of Bangladesh because of an abdominal injury.
Umar Gul leads the pace battery that also includes Aiaz Cheema and Mohammad Talha. The return of Wahab is expected to boost Pakistan’s firepower for the three Tests against England.
The Lahore-born player, who made a stunning Test debut in August 2010 by picking up five wickets against England in The Oval Test, was apparently sidelined because of ‘alleged association’ with match-fixers. He missed three successive series against Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka (in UAE) and Bangladesh before returning to national for the forthcoming Tests against England.
He was one of the leading performers of the recently-concluded Quaid-e-Azam Trophy with 30 wickets in six games at 24.86 for National Bank (NBP).
Senior batter Misbah-ul-Haq stays as the team’s captain, receiving a vote of confidence from the country’s cricket chiefs following a series of wins against Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Pakistan squad: Mohammad Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Imran Farhat, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Adnan Akmal, Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema, Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Talha, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman.

Copyright Thenews 27.12.2011