Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman, Shaharyar Mohammad Khan, has approved Pakistan’s 30-member preliminary squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 following its recommendation by the selection committee headed by Moin Khan.
Senior players including Younus Khan, Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik have made their place in their 30-member preliminary squad for the 2015 ICC World Cup, while banned off-spinner Saeed Ajmal is also in the list. Misbah-ul-Haq has already been named as skipper of the Team Pakistan for the ICC’s global quadrennial spectacle.
The squad will be shortened to the final 15 for submission to the ICC prior to the world body’s January 7, 2015 deadline.
“Winning or losing aside, Team Pakistan is performing adequately well in all three formats of the game. The belief in the think tank is that the squad holds immense potential and promise to perform in any conditions” says Moin Khan, chief selector.
“The most positive aspect is that some of our foremost proven talents have overcome physical issues and are raring to be given an opportunity to have a tilt at the global honours.”
In September, chief selector Moin Khan had said that Younus was not in the selectors’ plans for the World Cup, which led to severe criticism and an outburst from the 37-year-old himself.
Fast forward to December, Younus will probably be the first name on the team sheet in the upcoming ODIs against New Zealand due to his prolific form in the Test series against Australia and New Zealand.
The ICC World Cup commences in Australia and New Zealand on February 14, 2015, with Pakistan featuring in its first game against arch-rival India on February 15 at Adelaide.
Pakistan Announce Preliminary 30 Man World Cup Squad
The preliminary squad contains five openers, nine middle order batsmen, six pace bowlers, four spinners, four all-rounders and two wicket-keepers.
Preliminary Squad: Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Nasir Jamshed, Sharjeel Khan, Sami Aslam, Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Sohaib Maqsood, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Umar Gul, Ehsan Adil, Mohammad Talha, Saeed Ajmal, Zulfiqar Babar, Raza Hasan, Yasir Shah, Shahid Afridi, Anwar Ali, Bilawal Bhatti, Sohail Tanvir, Sarfraz Ahmed, Kamran Akmal.
