Pakistan shortlists players for England tour; Afridi dropped

LAHORE (Web Desk) - Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced a list of probable players for the upcoming England tour.

A selection committee led by former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq- was in Faisalabad monitored the performance of players during Pakistan Cup before shortlisting the names of 35 performers.



Those shortlisted include players from the Pakistan international and ‘A’ sides. But former T20 skipper Shahid Afridi’s name was not there.

Afridi had resigned from captaincy after Pakistan failed to put up a decent show in the World T20 in India, but announced that he would continue playing international cricket.

“We are scheduled to play only six or so T20s in the coming year so we thought it is better to give chance to youngsters,” Inzamam said at a press conference.



“In the meantime, Afridi will also get some time to rest and hopefully will regain his form.”

Pakistan cricket’s troublemakers Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal have been also axed from the tour probables.

“Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal had discipline issues and their performances weren’t up to the mark either,” Inzamam said.

The selection committee has informed the PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan regarding the shortlisted players and it is likely that Afridi won’t be selected for the team’s training camp either.

Afridi played his last Test in 2010 and resigned from one-day internationals after the World Cup 2015 in Australia.

Pakistan will start their England tour with the first Test scheduled on July 16, which will be followed by three more Tests, five ODIs and T20.