Pakistan Thursday dropped captain Misbahul Haq from the Twenty20 squad and made all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez the new skipper after the series defeat to England. The decision was widely expected after Misbah led Pakistan to a 2-1 loss in the three-match Twenty20 series against England in February. Misbah, who turns 38 later this month, is regarded as too old for the fastest brand of the game, but will still lead Pakistan for one-dayers and Tests on next month's Sri Lanka tour. Pakistan plays two Twenty20s, five one-dayers and three Tests on the tour. It opens with a Twenty20 match in Hambantota on June 1. Misbah said he was not retiring from Twenty20 cricket. The 31-year-old Hafeez, who will skipper Pakistan for the first time, will also be Misbah's deputy in one-days and Tests. A delighted Hafeez, who has played 29 Twenty20s for Pakistan, said: “I owe a big thanks to the PCB and Misbah for thinking that I am capable enough to lead Pakistan. I will do my best to lift the team.” Squad (Twenty20): Mohammad Hafeez (captain), Khalid Latif, Ahmed Shahzad, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Shakeel Ansar, Shahid Afridi, Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul, Sohail Tanveer, Saeed Ajmal, Raza Hasan, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Sami, Hammad Azam, Nasir Jamshed. One-day: Misbahul Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Rahat Ali, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Mohammad Sami, Asad Shafiq, Aizaz Cheema, Azhar Ali, Imran Farhat. Test: Misbahul Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Ayub Dogar, Asad Shafiq, Adnan Akmal, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Mohammad Sami, Faisal Iqbal, Junaid Khan, Afaq Raheem, Mohammad Ayub, Aizaz Cheema. Lanka announces league Sri Lanka will host a Twenty20 tournament in August in an attempt to emulate the success of the highly popular Indian Premier League (IPL), the island's cricket authorities announced Thursday. The Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) will be played in Colombo and Pallekele from Aug. 10 to 31 and will feature yet-to-be named world players, the board said in a statement. The tournament will feature seven provincial teams, each having six overseas players in their squad but with a provision that only four can be fielded in a playing XI. All matches will be telecast live.
