KARACHI — Pakistan Sunday omitted out-of-form Younus Khan from a 30-man initial squad for the eight-nation Champions Trophy after the middle order batsman flopped in recent one-day matches. The 35-year-old Younus managed just 116 runs in the series against South Africa earlier this month which Pakistan lost 3-2. Pakistan is in Group B of the event to be held in England from June 3-23. The other teams in their group are arch-rivals India, the West Indies and South Africa. Defending champion Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and England form Group A. All teams had April 6 as the cut off date to announce their initial squad to be trimmed to 15 in May. Probables: Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Ahmed Shehzad, Misbah-ul-Haq, Haris Sohail, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Umer Amin, Sohail Tanvir, Hammad Azam, Azhar Ali, Shahid Afridi, Asad Ali, Anwar Ali, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, Rahat Ali, Ehsan Adil, Imran Khan, Aizaz Cheema, Yasir Arafat, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Zulfiqar Babar, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan. Use T20 to break boycott: Misbah Misbahul Haq has identified Twenty20 cricket as the means by which Pakistan can bring international competition back to the country. Pakistan has not played a Test match on home soil since 2009 because of ongoing security concerns, but Misbah, the Test and one-day captain, said a new domestic T20 set-up could help attract overseas players and begin to change perceptions. “I think through T20 cricket we can also end our forced drought of international cricket at home,” he told Reuters in an interview Saturday. “There is no doubt our cricket and players have suffered because of the refusal of teams to visit Pakistan due to security concerns. “What we should do is organize our domestic T20 league over a period of three weeks and try to also see if we can invite some low-profile foreign players that will help the (Pakistan Cricket) Board portray a soft image of Pakistan and break the ice for teams to come and play in the country.” Four years ago armed militants attacked Sri Lanka's team bus in Lahore, killing eight Pakistanis and wounding six Sri Lankan players. Since then foreign teams have refused to travel to Pakistan due to security concerns, leaving Pakistan to play “home” matches in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and England. Now Misbah is calling for a revamped T20 structure in the country to spark their return to the international fold. “I would like to see one proper T20 league championship like it is held in other countries, with teams playing on home and away basis,” he said. “Presently the duration of the tournaments is too short and cannot help produce or groom players.” — Agencies
