Pakistan axe Malik, Farhat for Asia Cup

Islamabad: Former captain Shoaib Malik was among three players dropped as Pakistan's new selection committee made major changes on Saturday in naming a squad for this month's Asia Cup in Bangladesh.

Malik, opening batsman Imran Farhat and wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal were all dropped as the selectors reacted to a 4-0 whitewash by England in last month's one-day series.

"We had just one day to select the squad and we have picked the best possible players," newly appointed chief selector Iqbal Qasim said.

Dav Whatmore has arrived in Pakistan and is expected to be the new coach of the team.

Qasim replaced Mohammad Ilyas last Thursday and discussed the team combination with captain Misbah-ul-Haq and fellow selectors on Friday.

Left-handed Batsman Nasir Jamshed was recalled 2-1/2 years after his most recent international while Sarfraz Ahmed replaced Akmal.

"We have gone for specialist players for specialist spots and Jamshed has been included because of his recent batting form," Qasim said.

Fast bowler Junaid Khan was ruled out by a knee injury he sustained during the one-dayers against England.

Pakistan batsmen struggled against England but the selectors kept faith with Younis Khan, Umar Akmal and allrounder Shahid Afridi to compete against India, Sri Lanka and the hosts in the Asia Cup.

Australia's Dav Whatmore has arrived in Pakistan and is expected to be the new coach of the team in place of Mohsin Khan.

Interim coach Khan coached Pakistan to three successive victories in the test series after Waqar Younis quit due to personal reasons in October.

He led Pakistan to victories in test series against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and last year before beating world No. 1 England 3-0 in the test series in the United Arab Emirates.

Englishmen Julian Fountain, who has twice worked with Pakistan team, will be the new fielding coach, replacing Ijaz Ahmed.

Squad:

Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Hammad Azam, Asad Shafiq, Shahid Afridi, Azhar Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema, Wahab Riaz

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