The national selection committee, led by Haroon Rasheed, has named Fawad Alam as the captain of Pakistan A for the team’s month-long tour of Sri Lanka from April 23 to May 24.

Fawad is also part of the ODI team which will take on Bangladesh and will fly directly to Sri Lanka on the completion of the three-match ODI series in order to join the ‘A’ side.

Umar Amin will be the deputy on the tour, which will feature three one-dayers and as many four-day matches.

The four-day squad consists of seven players who have previously represented Pakistan in either Tests or ODIs, while the one-day squad has six such players.

The new selection committee has called up all the top performers of domestic cricket for the tour apart from SNGPL’s Naeemuddin, who top-scored in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Gold, as they feel he is not up to the mark in terms of fitness and fielding.

The likes of fast-bowler Tabish Khan, middle-order batsman Ali Asad, all-rounder Imad Wasim and international batsman Usman Salahuddin — who were snubbed by previous selection committees despite consistent performances — have been rewarded for their domestic showings.

“After having detailed deliberations on the post-World Cup scenario, it was decided by the selectors to formulate a long-term selection strategy to raise a back-up pool to complement the senior team on an as-and-when-required basis,” said Haroon on the selection.

The official added that a few first team players will also be travelling with the side in order to acclimatise themselves for the upcoming tour to Sri Lanka. “We’ve selected a few players from the ODI and T20 squad of the Bangladesh tour to accompany the Pakistan A team to Sri Lanka,” he said. “This is being done keeping in mind that the team’s next tour is of Sri Lanka and these players would have the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the playing conditions.”

Performances in domestic cricket, potential to perform at the international arena, and a preference of youth and fitness standards were taken into consideration for the selection, revealed Haroon.

Meanwhile, it was also announced that there will be no replacement for the injured Sohaib Maqsood in the T20 squad for Bangladesh as only a single match will be played in the game’s shortest format.
(The Express Tribune)