Thaindian News

By Omar Khalid
Karachi, Feb 26 (IANS) Pakistan Friday announced its 30-man preliminary squad for the ICC World Twenty20 championship, opting to retain wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal despite reports that he is being investigated for match-fixing.

However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to include two more glovesmen — Sarfaraz Ahmed and Zulqarnain Haider — in the provisional squad.

PCB chairman Ijaz Butt refused to comment on reports that the board is investigation Akmal for suspected match-fixing. He said the board will only comment on the issue once its probe committee completes its report on the reasons behind Pakistan’s poor showing in Australia.

A report in The News has suggested that Kamran Akmal is suspected of involvement in match-fixing mainly because of his dismal showing in the second Test against Australia in Sydney last month, which Pakistan lost by 36 runs from a seemingly winning position.

The PCB chairman made a startling revelation that two of the Pakistani players are involved in match-fixing, and added that the International Cricket Council (ICC) has provided evidence against them. However, Butt refused to name them.

The provisional Pakistan squad for the World Twenty20 championship includes three players from the national under-19 team that played in the final of the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand last month.

The squad:

Openers: Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat, Khalid Latif, Muhammad Hafeez, Salman Butt, Shahzaib Hassan.

Middle Order Batsmen: Shoaib Malik, Umer Akmal, Naveed Yasin, Hassan Raza, Kamran Younis, Misbah ul Haq, Babar Azam.

All Rounders: Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Yasir Arafat, Hammad Azam, Rana Naveed.

Fast Bowlers: Umar Gul, Muhammad Aamir, Mohammad Asif, Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Sami.

Spinners: Saeed Ajmal, Raza Hassan and Abdul Rehman.

Wicket-keepers: Kamran Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed and Zulqarnain Haider.