AFP/Karachi


Pakistan axed former captain Shoaib Malik, wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal and opener Imran Farhat for this month’s limited-overs series in the West Indies, but included dashing all-rounder Shahid Afridi in the team yesterday.
Selectors made four changes in the ODI squad which crashed out of last month’s eight-nation Champions Trophy in England, losing all three games due to sloppy batting.
Malik managed just 25 runs in the three matches, Kamran scored 23 in the same number of games, and Farhat scored four in two. Pakistan failed to cross the 170-mark in any of their games.
Pakistan will play five One-dayers and two Twenty20 internationals in the Caribbean, with the first One-day match in Guyana on July 14. Misbah-ul Haq will lead the One-day team while Mohammad Hafeez will skipper the Twenty20 side.
Afridi was dropped from the One-day squad twice in the last six months after he failed to impress with both bat and ball. He was first discarded for the One-day leg of the India tour in January before making a comeback on the South Africa tour, but was left out again for the Champions Trophy. Afridi has not taken a single wicket in his last six ODIs.
Also back in the One-day team is Kamran’s younger brother Umar, who will also keep wickets. Uncapped Mohammad Rizwan, 21, is the other keeper in the team.
Opener Ahmed Shahzad also staged a comeback after being left out two years ago. Paceman Umar Gul remains sidelined after undergoing knee surgery in May.