Pakistan leave Hafeez out of Asia Cup cricket squad

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Mani elected as PCB head

LAHORE, Pakistan, Sept 4, (AFP): Pakistan left all-rounders Mohammad Hafeez and Imad Wasim out of a 16-man squad for the six-nation Asia Cup, to be played in Dubai and Abu Dhabi from next week, selectors announced Tuesday.

But left-handed opener Shan Masood gets his first chance in Pakistan’s one-day squad after scoring 1,200-plus runs in the two domestic one-day tournaments, chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq said.

The 28-year-old has so far played 12 Tests for Pakistan.

Sarfraz Ahmed will lead the side, which opens their Cup campaign against the wildcard entrant on Sept 16 before taking on arch-rivals India in a highly-anticipated match three days later. Both rounds are in Dubai.

Hafeez, 37 was part of Pakistan’s 5-0 one-day series win in Zimbabwe in July, but was not played in any of the matches.

“We conducted fitness tests and since there is no compromise on fitness we have not included Hafeez and Imad Wasim,” Inzamam told media while announcing the squad in Lahore.

The Asia Cup begins Sept 15 and features India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and a qualifier team. Six teams – Hong Kong, Singapore, Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Malaysia – are currently facing off in Kuala Lumpur to secure the final berth.

Cup teams are divided in two groups. Two sides are culled for the Super Four rounds, after which the top two finishers go to the Sept 28 final in Dubai.

Squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Haris Sohail, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Junaid Khan, Usman Khan Shinwari and Shaheen Shah Afridi

Meanwhile, Ehsan Mani was elected unopposed as the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is also patron of the PCB, nominated Mani as the member of the Board of Governors last month after Najam Sethi resigned as chairman of cricket’s ruling body in Pakistan.

Sethi’s replacement was expected as he had a poor relationship with Khan, who was elected as prime minister in July general elections.

According to the PCB constitution, the patron can nominate two members on the board.

A special meeting of the board was held in the eastern city of Lahore on Tuesday, chaired by interim chairman Afzal Haider.

The board unanimously elected Mani as the chairman. Mani has considerable administrative experience of running cricketing affairs. He has previously represented Pakistan in the International Cricket Council between 1996-2002 besides serving as ICC president from 2003-2006.

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