Abdul Razzaq and Kamran Akmal have been axed from Pakistan's combined ODI and Twenty20 squad for the upcoming tour of West Indies, while senior players Umar Gul and Younis Khan have been rested. Shahid Afridi remains in charge of a team that will feature a new wicketkeeper, Mohammad Salman. The Test squad will be named at a later date and it is expected that Gul and Younis - the former had asked selectors for a rest from the limited overs portion of the tour - will return. Kamran's wicketkeeping has been a source of concern for some time now, though various selectors have persisted with him in the belief that his batting provides the side with flexibility. But a poor World Cup campaign, with bat and gloves - the low hit in the game against. Though the Test squad has not yet been announced, it is likely Kamran's younger brother Adnan will retain his spot in the side as the wicketkeeper.
Pakistan have also embarked on a search for a new allrounder, with the highly-rated Hammad Azam drafted in to replace Razzaq. The veteran Razzaq had a strange World Cup, playing all matches but almost as a spare part in the XI, taking only five wickets and making 104 runs. He did not complete his quota of ten overs even once, and managed only a single half-century, though he usually batted as low as number eight. He was often given the new ball, but taken off after short opening spells to make way for Gul and the spinners. After the first couple of games, he had expressed a desire to play a larger part in Pakistan's World Cup campaign, but continued to play a peripheral role. The tour kicks off with a warm-up game from April 18, while the only Twenty20 will be played on April 21 in St Lucia. The five-match ODI series will begin on April 23, and the Test leg of the tour will commence on May 12.
Squad: Shahid Afridi (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Taufeeq Umar, Usman Salahuddin, Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Tanvir Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Hammad Azam, Aizaz Cheema and Mohammad Salman (wk).
Reserves: Rameez Raja (jnr), Sadaf Hussain, Asif Zakir, Sohail Khan, Zulifqar Babar.