Pakistan Cricket Board has announced a 15-member squad, led by speedster Waqar Younis for the ARY Gold Cup in Sharjah.

In another remarkable twist, the Board has relieved Javed Miandad of coach's duties. Instead he has been called back to his position in the Board's Advisory Council, of which he was a member before taking up the coaching stint.

The services of Waqar, who has also led the team in the past, were required after Moin Khan had injured his knee during the New Zealand tour. The injury prompted him to miss out the last test.

However, Waqar's nomination has come as a bit of a surprise to all and sundry, because the pundits were expecting Inzamam-ul-Haq would continue with the job even after facing his first defeat as captain at Hamilton. He has been made Waqar's deputy.

Apart from Moin Khan some other players are also missing the Sharjah event, including Wasim Akram, Azhar Mahmood and Yousuf Youhana. On the other hand, Abdur Razzaq and Saeed Anwar have returned to the side after proving their fitness. The two hard-hitters in Shahid Afridi and Imran Nazir have also made their way back into the side after being discarded for the New Zealand Test series.

From the list of `healthy' players the most notable omissions are Saleem Elahi and Arshad Khan. These two seemed to be particularly the selector's favorites, with the latter being flown to New Zealand despite already having Saqlain there.

In keeping with their policy of infusing young blood in the side, the selectors have picked up Yasir Arafat, an all-rounder from Rawalpindi, and Kashif Raza, the speedster hailing from Sheikhupura. While Yasir has some international experience behind him, the latter is `brand new' debutant.

Yawar Saeed has been appointed manager of the team whereas Dale Naylor is the physio. After the removal of Javed Miandad, the post of the coach is lying vacant.

The full squad: Waqar Younis (Captain), Inzamam-ul-Haq (Vice-captain), Saeed Anwar, Imran Farhat, Shahid Arfridi, Imran Nazir, Younis Khan, Faisal Iqbal, Abdur Razzaq, Humayun Farhat (Wicket-keeper), Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Sami, Yasir Arafat, Kashif Raza.

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