Umar Gul and Rao Iftikhar Anjum have been recalled for the first two one-day internationals against Bangladesh, but there is no room for Shoaib Akhtar in a near-full-strength Pakistan squad. Three finds from the ODI series against Zimbabwe at home recently - Nasir Jamshed, Sohail Khan and Wahab Riaz - were handed another opportunity to impress, while there was a recall for Bazid Khan after a fine Pentangular Cup.
Gul, who travelled to Australia for a medical check-up on a longstanding back problem that prevented him from taking any part in the Test series against India last year, and Iftikhar - who had a poor series against Zimbabwe - return from injury to boost the bowling. With Mohammad Asif ruled out and Shoaib waiting to be cleared by the PCB's disciplinary committee, Pakistan's bowling attack also included Sohail Tanvir, Sohail Khan and allrounders Fawad Alam and Shahid Afridi, who make up the spin quotient.
Bazid, who played one Test and three ODIs in 2004-05, finished as the Pentangular Cup's second-highest run-scorer with 522 at 74.57, including three hundreds.
In the ODIs against Zimbabwe, Pakistan tried out opener Jamshed and bowlers Sohail Khan - who shot to fame in his debut first-class season by grabbing 65 wickets in his first nine matches - and Riaz, among other young hopefuls. Jamshed impressed with 197 runs at 39.40 as did the two bowlers. Both wicketkeepers from that series, Kamran Akmal and Sarfraz Ahmed, have been retained.
While announcing the 16-man squad Salahuddin Ahmed, head of the selection committee, said that players such as Yasir Hameed, Yasir Arafat, Faisal Iqbal, Naumanullah, Abdur Rauf, Kamran Hussain, Junaid Zia, Yasir Ali, Umair Khan - who have all performed well on the domestic circuit - would be considered for the next three ODIs.
The five-match series runs from April 14 to May 5.
After Australia decided to postpone their tour of Pakistan, the PCB searched for a team to replace them for a five-match ODI series. The PCB was keen on India to play the matches but the BCCI could not fit another series in to an already jam-packed itinerary.
Pakistan squad Shoaib Malik (capt), Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal (wk), Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz, Fawad Alam, Bazid Khan, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk).
Tuesday, April 8, 2008 Start time 15:00 local time (10:00 GMT)
Big picture
Bangladesh's whistle-stop tour, which can be viewed as a consolation for Australia pulling out, comes just a few days before the start of the Indian Premier League. The result appears a foregone conclusion - especially given Bangladesh's woeful recent record - but the visitors will hope to win some mini-battles over the course of the five games. An upset or two would be a big fillip for their confidence, at a time when they are looking to rebuild with a young side. Mohammad Ashraful has urged his supporters to give the side more time to settle and it will be interesting to see if they can put up a fight against a quality opposition.
Form guide - Pakistan
Last five matches: WWWWW
Player to watch: A tall, attacking opener, Nasir Jamshed was one of the success stories in Pakistan's experimental one-day line-up in the home series against Zimbabwe recently, scoring 197 runs in five games. He took full advantage of the weak Zimbabwean attack to post half-centuries in his first two ODIs. Jamshed is particularly strong on the offside and isn't shy of chasing deliveries away from the body. He has another chance to cement his opening slot, especially with Kamran Akmal also in the fray to partner Salman Butt.
Form guide - Bangladesh
Last five matches: LLWWW
Player to watch: After an indifferent ODI series at home against South Africa, Shahriar Nafees bounced back strongly against Ireland with three consecutive half-centuries. He backed his promotion to the opening slot with scores of 90 not out, 60 and 54, ending the series with an average of 102 and the Man-of-the Series award. Bangladesh's long-standing problems in the opening position were solved temporarily in that series thanks to Nafees and Tamim Iqbal.
Team news
Umar Gul and Rao Iftikhar Anjum have been recalled for the first two matches, and both should be in the XI for Pakistan. There is slight doubt over Rao Iftikhar due to an ankle niggle, but that is unlikely to prevent him from playing. Bazid Khan is another one to watch out for, especially after the good form he has shown in domestic competitions. Pakistan have a couple of other youngsters in their squad - Sohail Khan and Wahab Riaz - who did well against Zimbabwe, but they will probably get an opportunity later, if the series is already in the bag.
For Bangladesh, Syed Rasel, the left-arm seamer, is the only addition to the 14-member squad that completed a 3-0 win over Ireland, but he might have to sit out for the first game.
Pakistan (likely) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Nasir Jamshed, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Shoaib Malik (capt), 6 Misbah-ul-Haq, 7 Shahid Afridi, 8 Kamran Akmal (wk), 9 Rao Iftikhar, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Sohail Tanveer.
Umpires: Steve Bucknor, Aleem Dar
Pitch & conditions
The pitch at the Gaddafi Stadium looks a belter - whatever little dry grass there was on the surface was also being shaved off on the eve of the match - and the 3pm start means there'll be no early morning assistance for the fast bowlers to make use of. There might be some dew later in the evening, but look of the pitch and the hot weather suggests the captain winning the toss will prefer to bat first.
Stats & trivia
Bangladesh lost 11 consecutive games after the World Cup and their only three wins came in the recent home series against Ireland.
Bangladesh have lost 17 of the 18 matches against Pakistan. Their only victory came in the 1999 World Cup in England. They are yet to win a match on a tour to Pakistan.
Quotes
"We know they can be dangerous so we will not take them lightly and play at our best to win all the matches. This doesn't mean I am claiming to sweep them. We will try to achieve that with good work.
Our pace attack even without Shoaib [Akhtar] is good. Asif is recovering and played a domestic game today, Gul is back and even Sohail Tanvir and Rao are experienced bowlers now." Shoaib Malik, Pakistan's captain
"Pakistan are ranked fifth right now and we are ninth, so the discrepancy is massive. We've got to stick to our gameplans. If Pakistan slip up, we'll jump on them. So whoever plays for them, we'll play our own game - it doesn't really matter to us." Jamie Siddons, Bangladesh's coach
"We are confident. We beat Ireland in our last series and our batsmen were scoring runs and the bowlers were taking wickets. We are a young, talented side. If we stick to our team plans, we will do well and have a good chance of winning." Mohammad Ashraful, Bangladesh's captain
