Pakistan to name squad for England today

The Pakistan cricket team for next month's tour to England will be named on Tuesday evening, officials said, adding that the announcement of the coach will be announced later.

The chairman of selectors Wasim Bari said Monday that he was informed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that all the players were declared fit by the panel of doctors and were now available for selection.

Bari, however, said the team would be finalized and handed over to the PCB on Tuesday. He said he would be submitting a 16-man squad for the two-Test series while team for the tri-nation oneday series would be named later.

Bari indicated there was a possibility that an additional player might be sent to England.

As things continued to remain complex and intriguing, former captains Wasim Akram and Moin Khan were left facing the axe in the backdrop of recent happenings.

Wasim Akram, after a dismal performance in the two Tests against England at home, failed to take part in the three-Test series against New Zealand because of inter-coastal injury. Nevertheless, sources say skipper Waqar Younis was strongly opposing the selection of Wasim though the vote of the chief selector was in the left-armer's favour.

Rashid Latif is being favoured over Moin because of Waqar's firm belief in the talent of the former who first blew the whistle of betting and match-fixing in Pakistan cricket.

Not surprisingly injury prone and joy-rider, Shoaib Akhtar has once again been assured of a place in the squad after returning unfit from the tour to New Zealand in February. Brig Rana admitted that Shoaib neither appeared before the panel of doctors nor played in the on going one-dayers on the pretext that he was suffering from stomach upset.

Waqar Younis (captain), Inzamam-ul-Haq (vice-captain), Saeed Anwar, Yousuf Youhana, Abdur Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood, Mohammad Sami, Faisal Iqbal, Younis Khan, Mohammad Wasim, Imran Farhat, Rashid Latif (wicketkeeper), Shoaib Akhtar, Fazle Akbar and Mushtaq Ahmad, Saqlain Mushtaq.