The Pakistan cricket board (PCB) is expected to announce the World Cup squad on 30 December. The board didn’t announce the one-day international (ODI) squad for the team which is currently in New Zealand. The PCB will now announce both ODI squads on the same date.
The board was due to announce the squad before 19 December, which was the deadline for all the teams to announce their preliminary squads for the 2011 World Cup. The PCB was uncertain over the availability of a few players, due to which they requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to extend the deadline for Pakistan. The ICC granted the extension, and the new deadline for the PCB was given as 5 January.
A spokesman for the PCB said that, “The Selection committee will meet on 30 December, after PCB has assured that they will give final answers on inclusion of some players. The Selection Committee will also announce the one day squad for the New Zealand series on 30 December.”
Former captain Shoaib Malik, along with Kamran Akmal and Danish Kaneria were not cleared by the ICC for selection, because of their alleged involvement in match-fixing.
The PCB has asked these players to submit some important documents so that they can request clearance from the ICC. The PCB is eager to select Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik for the World Cup considering their experience and form. A committee has also been formed, which will decide the fate of these three players. The committee is due to meet the trio before the squad is announced.
The PCB was criticised by many experts because the board didn’t announce the team for the ODIs in New Zealand. The team is already in New Zealand, and will be playing their first Twenty20 match on Boxing Day. After the three Twenty20's, the team will also be playing a couple of Test matches.
The captain of the ODI and Twenty20 team, Shahid Afridi, was also not pleased with the decision of not announcing the squads for the World Cup and ODI's for New Zealand.
