Akram returns over Waqar's objections

K J M Varma in Islamabad

Overriding serious differences among senior players and officials over Wasim Akram's inclusion in the team for the upcoming tour of England, the Pakistan Cricket Board late on Saturday retained the all-rounder in a 17-member squad, thanks to a last-minute veto by the PCB chief, Lieutenant General Tauqir Zia.

After day-long politicking which saw Waqar Younis, already named skipper, and other officials objecting to Akram's inclusion in the team, the veteran fast bowler was finally selected as the seventeenth member of the team at 2300 IST after Lt Gen Zia exercised his veto.

Earlier, differences in the team came to the fore with new captain, Waqar, a bitter critic of Akram, refusing to relent to requests from Lt Gen Zia to include the 34-year-old former skipper, PCB sources said.

Despite persistent efforts, Waqar, supported by former coach Javed Miandad, refused to agree to Akram's inclusion, saying the veteran fast bowler's fitness and form were doubtful.

But Akram, no stranger to the board's politics, is believed to have applied pressure on Lt Gen Zia through former Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and some influential journalists.

The team: Waqar Younis (captain), Inzamam-ul-Haq, Saeed Anwar, Imran Farhat, Mohammad Wasim, Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Faisal Iqbal, Salim Ilahi, Rasheed Latif, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Azhar Mahmood, Abdur Razzaq, Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmed.

PTI

Mail Cricket Editor