LAHORE, Pakistan: In-form batsman Mohammad Hafeez and forgotten paceman Mohammad Talha yesterday returned to Pakistan’s 15-man squad for the three-Test series against Sri Lanka starting in the United Arab Emirates next week.
Hafeez was discarded from the Test team for the two-match series against South Africa in October after a run of poor scores in the year.
But the 33-year-old has scored three hundreds in the ongoing five-match one-day series to regain his place in the Test squad.
Pakistan lead the series 3-1, with the fifth and final match in Abu Dhabi today.
The first Test against Sri Lanka starts in Abu Dhabi on December 31. The second Test will be in Dubai (January 8-12) and the third in Sharjah (January 16-20). Also returning to the Test squad is 25-year-old right-arm paceman Talha, whose only Test in 2009 ended abruptly after a militant attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in March 2009.
Meanwhile, organisers of cricket’s Asia Cup will hold talks next month to decide whether to move February’s tournament out of violence-plagued Bangladesh, a top official said yesterday.
Asian Cricket Council chief executive Syed Ashraful Haque said the council would meet in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on January 4 to discuss alternative venues in light of the growing unrest in Bangladesh.
“As of now the Asia Cup will be held in Bangladesh as scheduled,” Haque said.
“However, if the participating countries see that the security situation in Bangladesh prevailing at that time is not convenient for that, the question of shifting the venue arises. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are due to take part in the 50-over one-day tournament from February 24 to March 7. All the matches are scheduled to take place in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, which has badly hit by violent protests and strikes in the build-up to a general election on January 5.
Squad: Misbah-ul Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shahzad, Khurram Manzoor, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Adnan Akmal, Junaid Khan, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Umar Gul, Rahat Ali, Muhammad Talha.
AFP
