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Pakistan have included discarded opener Salman Butt among their five reserve players for next month’s World in the West Indies.

A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesman announced on Thursday that Butt, fast bowlers Mohammad Sami and Shahid Nazir, all-rounder Azhar Mahmood and young wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider have been short-listed as reserve players.

The players have been selected as cover for a number of unfit men selected in Pakistan’s 15-member squad for the World Cup to be played from March 13 to April 28. Pakistan have named three injured fast bowlers - Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul and Mohammad Asif - in the touring party for the Caribbean assignment.

They would be allowed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to replace any of their injured players before March 2 and any replacement after that deadline would only come after the approval of the World Cup technical committee.

Butt, 22, has been out favour since quite some time having played the last of his 33 One-day Internationals (ODIs) last June against Scotland in Edinburgh. Azhar Mahmood was kept out in cold for a longer period before given a surprise recall for the recently-concluded One-day International (ODI) series against South Africa.

He was not a part of Pakistan’s 30-man provisional squad but has been kept on the stand-bye because of the squad’s long injury list. Also in with a chance to play a role in the World Cup is Mohammad Sami, who missed the one-dayers in South Africa because of a back injury. Medium pacer Shahid Nazir also made the reserves’ list though he is not regarded as a one-day bowler.

The selectors had seriously discussed the option to have a reserve wicket-keeper in the 15-man squad for the West Indies but finally decided to have faith in regular wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal. Zulqarnain Haider, who was sent to South Africa as Akmal’s understudy, is included among the reserves.
Source:The News