Kamran Akmal Dropped For Twenty20s Against England

Kamran Akmal Dropped For Twenty20s Against England

Kamran Akmal, here in action in Dubai, against New Zealand, will not feature against England.

©REUTERS/Nikhil Monterio. Picture supplied by Action Images

Under-pressure wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal has been dropped as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have named a 14-man squad to play England in two Twenty20 Internationals in Dubai later this month.

Akmal is to be replaced by Sarfraz Ahmed behind the stumps, Shoaib Malik will lead the side due to Shahid Afridi's ban and there is no place for Mohammad Asif, who is not allowed to enter the United Arab Emirates after a doping offence in 2008 and Akmal's exclusion comes despite a half-century in the one-off Twenty20 International against Australia in Perth.

Fast bowler Mohammad Talha and all-rounder Yasir Arafat are added to the squad with Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq returning as Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Iftikhar Anjum miss out altogether.

Iftikhar, along with Aamer Sajjad and Mohammad Aamer, were named as reserves.

Reigning ICC World Twenty20 champions Pakistan play England on 19th and 20th February, also playing their A side in a warm-up game.

Pakistan: Shoaib Malik (captain), Shahid Afridi, Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat, Khalid Latif, Umar Akmal, Fawad Alam, Abdul Razzaq, Sarfraz Ahmed, Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Talha, Saeed Ajmal

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