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No surprises are expected to be sprung upon the common cricket fan, when the Pakistan team for its forthcoming tour of Scotland and England is announced, sometime early in the second week of next month. The 16-member squad will in all probability include the names of only the tried and tested national team members.

The national selectors have, apparently, decided in principle to give a call-up though to Faisalabad wicket-keeper Mohammad Salman to join in the camp training, but he is not being tipped to be taken along on the tour.

The 24-year-old Salman, who now also plays for the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Ltd (SNGPL) team after the Allied Bank outfit was disbanded, emerged as the leading wicket-keeper by miles in the domestic season just ended.

In first-class cricket, his haul was an impressive 61 dismissals, composed of 58 catches and three stumpings.

In major limited overs matches, he shared the top spot with Abbottabad’s Ahmed Said, with 15 dimsissals.

The Pakistan team’s fitness camp gets under way in Lahore from May 25, after the selectors have shortlisted the England tour group to some 24 probables. The final 16 are expected to be announced by June 8 or 9, after which the national camp will be arranged from June 10 to 22 at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.

Around the same time, at the nearby National Cricket Academy, the Pakistan A team tourists for a tour of Australia will also start training. From late June, Australia will be hosting a series of matches among the A teams of Australia, Pakistan, India and New Zealand.

These games, all to be played in Darwin and Cairns, will include one-day, four-day and Twenty20 matches for all the four participating teams. As part of the programme, local representative teams from Queensland and the Northern Territory will take part in the series, providing participants with an excellent opportunity to gain experience against some of international cricket’s aspirants.

The senior Pakistan team begins its tour of the United Kingdom with a one-off One-day International against Scotland on June 27.

During its stay in England, it will play a series of four Tests in addition to a Twenty20 International and five proper One-day Internationals.

The injured and now recuperating two Shoaibs — Akhtar and Malik — are both hoping to be fit in time for the England tour’s start. Mohammad Asif, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Shahid Afridi, who are currently playing professional cricket in England, will join the Pakistan team directly from London, if selected.

The 24 probables, to be named officially by Wednesday, may comprise the following players:

Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Imran Farhat, Salman Butt, Faisal Iqbal, Asim Kamal, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Rao Iftikhar, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Salman, Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Asif, Abdul Rehman, Shoaib Malik, Naved-ul-Hasan, Taufeeq Umar, Tahir Khan, Shahid Yousuf and Yasir Arafat.

Source:The News