Waqar to captain Pak at Sharjah

The Pakistan Cricket Board appointed fast bowler Waqar Younis as captain on Tuesday for this month's tri-nation one-day series in Sharjah.

The move came as the PCB removed Javed Miandad as team coach, giving him an office job at the board's headquarters in Lahore.

Younis, who has taken 323 wickets in 204 matches, was named skipper after he impressed in leading Pakistan in a tri-nation series in Singapore last July.

Inzamam-ul-Haq, who was tipped to replace injured captain Moin Khan, was retained as vice-captain of a team that does not include injured regulars Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Azhar Mahmood and Yousuf Youhana.

The selectors also named uncapped paceman Kashif Raza and recalled off-spinner Shoaib Malik and allrounder Yasir Arafat. Wicketkeeper Humayun Farhat, who played in the Hamilton test in New Zealand last month, was also included.

Sri Lanka and New Zealand, who replaced India, are the other teams travelling to the desert city for the tournament to be played between April 8 and 20.

Squad:
Waqar Younis (captain), Inzamam-ul-Haq (vice-captain), Imran Nazir, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Anwar, Imran Farhat, Faisal Iqbal, Younis Khan, Abdur Razzaq, Humayun Farhat (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Sami, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Malik, Yasir Arafat and Kashif Raza.
Manager: Yawar Saeed
Physiotherapist: Dale Naylor