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Akhtar out, Asif in for Champions Trophy squad
Shoaib Akhtar was excluded on Wednesday from an extended 30-player squad for the Champions Trophy in September, while fellow fast bowler Mohammad Asif was included with his doping ban ending the day the tournament starts.
Shoaib Akhtar was excluded on Wednesday from an extended 30-player squad for the Champions Trophy in September, while fellow fast bowler Mohammad Asif was included with his doping ban ending the day the tournament starts.
Akhtar had made two unimpressive comebacks to international cricket, against Sri Lanka and Australia this year, since being sidelined due to fitness and discipline problems in 2007. The Indian Premier League banned Asif for a year for testing positive for the steroid nandrolone.
His ban ends on September 22. He has also been fined 1 million ($12,250) for possessing a small amount of opium in the United Arab Emirates last year. The squad will be cut down to 15 by August 22.
Pakistan is placed in Group A along with Australia, India and West Indies in the Champions Trophy. Group B comprises New Zealand, South Africa, England and Sri Lanka. The top two teams from each group qualify for the semifinals.
Team:
Younis Khan (captain), Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Khalid Latif, Azhar Ali, Imran Nazir, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbahul Haq, Umar Amin, Umar Akmal, Sheharyar Ghani, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Rana Naved, Yasir Arafat, Fawad Alam, Kamran Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed, Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamir, Abdul Rauf, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Talha, Sohail Tanvir, Rao Iftikhar, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Mohammad Hafeez.
