Dawn Pakistan's most widely circulated English language newspaper.

Sahara Team likely to be named on Thursday

By Our Sports Reporter

2 September 1998


KARACHI, Sept 1: The announcement of the Pakistan cricket team for the Sahara Cup has been delayed at least till Thursday, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sources said on Tuesday.

The squad, which was recommended by the selection committee on Sunday, has not been approved by the executive council so far.

The major problem the cricket administrators face is the Senate Standing Committee on Sports instructions to implement the PCB probe committee's recommendations to ignore players who have been mentioned as prime suspects in betting and match-fixing, the sources said.

PCB chairman Khalid Mahmood had informed the Senate's committee on Monday that he would pass their instructions to the executive council which will decide if the players, mentioned in the iterim report submitted by the PCB probe committee, have to be suspended or included, added the sources.

Until the team was short-listed to 14 players from 16, the approval of the executive council cannot be taken.

The Toronto-bound team will only be finalized once Waqar Younis and Saqlain Mushtaq inform the PCB about their availabilities.

Younis is suffering from an elbow injury while Mushtaq, playing for Surrey, is busy in the English County Championship.

The sources said confirmation from Younis was expected on Wednesday when he returns from Saudi Arabia. ``As far as Saqlain Mushtaq is concerned, he has expressed his consent to play in the last three matches. But that has yet to be confirmed through proper channel i.e. a letter from his county.''

After Saqlain Mushtaq's confirmation, the selectors will be asked to drop a player from the first 14 to accommodate the off-spinner. If Younis is unfit, he will be replaced by Fazl-i-Akbar, said the sources.

Meanwhile, the team management, it is gathered, is pressing for the inclusion of paceman Shoaib Akhtar in the Sahara Cup side. They argue that the series against India was more important than the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur.

The team officials claimed that if the Indian team for the Kuala Lumpur event can be finalized on Sept 4, Pakistan can also make a last-minute change by replacing Shoaib Akhtar with Abdul Razzak.

This proposal was submitted by the selectors last week but was rejected by the PCB, the sources stated.


Source: Dawn
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Date-stamped : 02 Sep1998 - 10:26