Afridi dropped from CT Squad

The national selection committee, as expected, axed experienced all-rounder Shahid Afridi and batsman Umar Akmal for the ICC Champions Trophy in England in June. Chief selector Iqbal Qasim announced the 15-member squad in Lahore after lengthy deliberations although the selectors had finalised the squad last week and submitted it to PCB chairman for approval. At the end of the day, it transpired that the selectors made two changes to their submitted squad, replacing injured middle order batsman Haris Sohail with Umar Amin and preferring to pick left arm pacer Wahab Riaz to Aizaz Cheema. ‘Afridi’s bowling has not been up to the mark in recent matches. He has not taken wickets and his primary role in the team is that of a bowler,’ Qasim said. SQUAD: Misbah-ul-Haq (Capt), N Jamshed, I Farhat, M Hafeez, A Shafiq, S Malik, Umar Amin, Kamran Akmal, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Asad Ali, Ehsan Adil and Wahab Riaz.