Cricket: Pak team for Asia Cup, Misbah retained as captain

LAHORE: Pakistan’s 15-man squad was announced on Saturday for the Asia Cup to be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh later this month.

The four-nation event will include defending champions India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan and will run from March 11-22.

Misbah-ul-Haq was retained as captain while Shoaib Malik, Imran Farhat and Adnan
Akmal were dropped from the squad for the tournament.

Pakistan's defeats in the One-Day International and Twenty20 series to England prompted calls for a change in team management and captaincy, but the PCB opted to retain Misbah for the Asia Cup.

Chief selector Iqbal Qasim said opener Nasir Jamshed and wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed had been recalled for the tournament.

"We feel that since Nasir has done well in domestic cricket and in the recent Bangladesh Premier League he deserves a chance to play for the national team," Qasim said.

The PCB is also expected to announce the appointment of Australian Dav Whatmore as head coach later on Saturday. Mohsin Khan has been acting as interim coach for the England series.

Squad:
Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Hammad Azam, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Aizaz Cheema.