suspicion wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and senior batsman Mohammad Yousuf out of the Twenty20 and Test squads announced Tuesday for next month's tour of New Zealand. Shahid Afridi will lead the Twenty20 team, while Misbah-ul-Haq was retained as Test captain. Akmal, who was ruled out of Pakistan's recent series against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates after surgery for appendicitis, has been at the centre of match-fixing allegations. The International Cricket Council (ICC) reportedly issued notice to him regarding Pakistan's controversial defeat against Australia in the Sydney Test in January. But there were reports in the Pakistani media suggesting Akmal, 28, had contacted the ICC regarding his selection and was told that he was cleared for selection. Yousuf, 36, had to return home after a recurrence of a groin injury earlier this month and although he too was featuring in the domestic matches, selectors left him out. Also overlooked was former captain Shoaib Malik. Malik, 28, had been left out of the team for the South African series after performing poorly on the tour of England. Pakistan will play three Twenty20 matches, two Tests and six one-day internationals against New Zealand. A separate squad for the one-d y matches will be announced later. The squads: Twenty20: Shahid Afridi (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shahzad, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Fawad Alam, Adnan Akmal, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar, Tanveer Ahmed, Sohail Tanveer, Wahab Riaz (subject to fitness). Test: Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Taufiq Umer, Younis Khan, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Adnan Akmal, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Umar Gul, Tanveer Ahmed, Sohail Tanveer, Wahab Riaz. Haider's wife fears for safety The wife of Pakistan wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider wants to join her husband in London as she fears for her children's safety after Haider said he would expose those taking bribes in Pakistan cricket. Iqra Haider, flanked by her two small children, said on Geo News that she was scared after getting threat calls from unknown callers. “Soon after my husband said on his Facebook page yesterday he would expose these people, I started getting calls from unknown numbers where they told me they knew where my children studied or went and they would not remain safe,” she said. The wicketkeeper's wife, speaking on national television, said she wanted to join her husband in London. “I don't feel safe any longer in Pakistan after these threats calls. I am afraid to even send my children out now, I want to be with my husband,” she said. Haider caused a furore in Pakistan cricket when he left the national team earlier this month and fled Dubai for London where he has applied for asylum, saying he was under threat from people who wanted him to cooperate in fixing matches. On Saturday he wrote on his Facebook page that he would soon expose people who had taken bribes. Sources close to the keeper, who has played just one Test for his country, said he was likely to hold a press conference Friday to carry out his Facebook threats.
