"Kamran Akmal deserved to be dropped. He had been tested more than once and hence does not deserve to be given another chance," remarked former Pakistan captain Asif Iqbal to Gulf News immediately after Pakistan Cricket Board announced their One-day and Twenty20 squad for the upcoming tour of West Indies.
Pakistan selectors appointed uncapped 29-year-old Mohammad Salman as the new wicketkeeper following Akmal's dismal show in the recent World Cup in which he had dropped many crucial catches.
Senior players Abdul Razzaq, Younus Khan and Umar Gul have been rested as uncapped Usman Salahuddin, Hammad Azam and Aizaz Cheema have been included in the team.
"It is nice to hear the selectors use the term rested while dropping some of the senior players. They have used the term rested taking into consideration their contribution in the past and their seniority. However, it is a fact that some of the senior players did not perform in the World Cup," said Iqbal.
"It is good to try out a new wicketkeeper. I haven't seen much of Salman but heard a lot about another young wicket keeper in Sarfraz Ahmad, who also deserved to be considered," said Iqbal, who captained Pakistan's first World Cup team in 1975.
"India deserved to win the World Cup because they were the best team. It was great of Pakistan, who were trailing in the sixth or seventh position in world ranking before the start of the World Cup, to finish among the top four. Unfortunately we had a bad day in Mohali and our fielding let us down," he said.
Shahid Afridi will lead the Twenty20 and One-day team in the West Indies.
"It is nice to hear that Afridi has agreed to lead the team to West Indies as he had stated that he might take a break. It is important for the team to be playing under Afridi," said Iqbal.
Tour starts on April 18
Pakistan's West Indies tour will commence from April 18 with a warm-up game and followed by a Twenty20 match on April 21 in St Lucia.
The five match One-day series will commence on April 23, while the Test matches will begin on May 12.
Pakistan selectors will meet soon to select the Test squad. It is likely that Kamran's younger brother Adnan may return as the wicketkeeper for the Test side. Though Younus Khan and Umar Gul may return to the Test team, Razzaq, who scored only 104 runs and took five wickets from all the World Cup matches, is likely to be ignored.
Squad: Shahid Afridi (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmad Shehzad, Taufeeq Umar, Usman Salahuddin, Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdul Rahman, Saeed Ajmal, Tanvir Ahmad, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Hammad Azam, Aizaz Cheema and Mohammad Salman (wk)
Reserves: Rameez Raja (Jr), Sadaf Hussain, Asif Zakir, Sohail Khan, Zulifqar Babar.
