PCB declare probables for Twenty20 WC

The Pakistan Board includes all the leading players in the preliminary 30-man squad for the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup to be held in South Africa in September.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has included all the leading players in the preliminary 30-man squad for the inaugural Twenty20 World championship to be held in South Africa in September.

HT Image

The selectors retained the 15 who went to Scotland to play two one-day games against Scotland and India and 15 other young players in the probables' list.

"(Mohammad) Yousuf, (Abdul) Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar and Younis Khan are all in the 30 man shortlist," a source close to the selectors said.

However, the panel has discussed resting the seniors for the Twenty20 tournament when the final squad is announced.

"The final squad could be very different as the emphasis is on blooding new players," the source said.

"The Board has also been laying a lot of emphasis on unearthing and grooming new and young players who can serve the national team in the future. The selectors were also asked to submit 25 names who will get monthly retainers for playing in domestic cricket and junior teams," he said.

The selectors had earlier submitted 32 names to the PCB from which it will pick 20 players to award central contracts. The Board also asked selectors to recommend 25 additional names, mostly of youngsters, for the monthly retainers.

"This is a clear indication that the Board is planning for the future," the source said.

The Board has announced a budget of around 2.4 billion rupees for the fiscal year with a big percentage to be spent on development of stadiums and on sponsoring and support of domestic and club cricket and paying salaries to the players who appear for affiliated associations.