Pakistan were forced to retain Mohammad Yousuf as captain for their three-Test series in Australia after Younus Khan remained unavailable, selectors announced Tuesday.
Younus, appointed captain until the 2011 World Cup, pulled out of Pakistan's tour to New Zealand over lack of form and has since been unavailable. He did not play in any domestic match, which was a prerequisite for his selection.
"He (Younus) has not been in touch with us at all since returning home and he didn't inform us about his availability for the Australian tour. So we didn't consider him for the series," chief selector Iqbal Qasim said.
Qasim said Younus would have to play some domestic cricket in order to prove his form before being considered for national selection again in the future.
"He had withdrawn from the test tour of New Zealand because of his poor form, so he has to play in some domestic matches to get his touch back," Qasim said.
Last month, PCB had asked Yousuf to lead the side in the ongoing test series against New Zealand after Younus withdrew his name from the tour citing poor form with the bat.
Younus had said that he wants to take a break from the international cricket to recoup his form and passion for the sport.
But since returning from Abu Dhabi where the team lost the ODI series to New Zealand under his captaincy, Younus had maintained distance from the media and was also not in touch with the board or selectors.
"Yousuf has done enough to be made captain for tests and ODIs as the Chairman of the board didn't agree at the thought to have separate captains for tests and ODIs," a board official said.
Yousuf will also lead the team in the five-match one-day series that follows the Tests. Shahid Afridi, not in the Test squad, will lead the team in the one Twenty20 to be played after the one-day matches.
Two players on the current New Zealand Test tour -- Yasir Arafat and Sarfraz Ahmed -- will return home to trim the squad for the Australia tour to 16.
The first Test starts in Melbourne from December 26.
Squad: Mohammad Yousuf (captain), Salman Butt, Khurrum Manzoor, Imran Farhat, Shoaib Malik, Fawad Alam, Faisal Iqbal, Misbah-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal (wk), Danish Kaneria, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamir, Abdur Rauf, Umer Akmal.
Younus, appointed captain until the 2011 World Cup, pulled out of Pakistan's tour to New Zealand over lack of form and has since been unavailable. He did not play in any domestic match, which was a prerequisite for his selection.
"He (Younus) has not been in touch with us at all since returning home and he didn't inform us about his availability for the Australian tour. So we didn't consider him for the series," chief selector Iqbal Qasim said.
Qasim said Younus would have to play some domestic cricket in order to prove his form before being considered for national selection again in the future.
"He had withdrawn from the test tour of New Zealand because of his poor form, so he has to play in some domestic matches to get his touch back," Qasim said.
Last month, PCB had asked Yousuf to lead the side in the ongoing test series against New Zealand after Younus withdrew his name from the tour citing poor form with the bat.
Younus had said that he wants to take a break from the international cricket to recoup his form and passion for the sport.
But since returning from Abu Dhabi where the team lost the ODI series to New Zealand under his captaincy, Younus had maintained distance from the media and was also not in touch with the board or selectors.
"Yousuf has done enough to be made captain for tests and ODIs as the Chairman of the board didn't agree at the thought to have separate captains for tests and ODIs," a board official said.
Yousuf will also lead the team in the five-match one-day series that follows the Tests. Shahid Afridi, not in the Test squad, will lead the team in the one Twenty20 to be played after the one-day matches.
Two players on the current New Zealand Test tour -- Yasir Arafat and Sarfraz Ahmed -- will return home to trim the squad for the Australia tour to 16.
The first Test starts in Melbourne from December 26.
Squad: Mohammad Yousuf (captain), Salman Butt, Khurrum Manzoor, Imran Farhat, Shoaib Malik, Fawad Alam, Faisal Iqbal, Misbah-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal (wk), Danish Kaneria, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamir, Abdur Rauf, Umer Akmal.
© AFP
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