CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – Pakistan open their tour of the Caribbean today, when they face a University of the West Indies Vice Chancellor’s XI at Mindoo Phillip Park.
The Pakistanis had their first training on Caribbean soil on Saturday, and will enter the match looking to send a strong message to Darren Sammy’s West Indies for their forthcoming series.
“We’ve brought some youngsters with us, and I think it’s a golden opportunity for them to make a name for themselves, and to make a career in the sport,” said Intikhab Alam, the Pakistan team’s manager.
“It was a long journey from Pakistan to the Caribbean, but we travelled well, and the boys are all happy and they’re well.”
He added: “The people in Pakistan are very happy [following the World Cup]. Now the expectations are even higher for this tour of the West Indies because we have never won a [Test] series out here before.”
Similar to their West Indies counterparts, Pakistan’s selectors have brought-in a number of fresh faces for the limited-overs squad.
They, like West Indies, have excluded experienced players like Abdul Razzaq and Kamran Akmal, which has paved the way for the next set of players in order to rebuild the team with an eye also to the next World Cup.
Wicketkeeper Muhammad Salman, aged 29, grabs Akmal’s place, and 20-year-old Hammad Azam has been slotted in to replace Razzaq from the World Cup squad.
The selectors have also chosen to rest former captain Younis Khan and key fast bowler Umar Gul, which makes way for Usman Salahuddin and 21-year-old left-arm fast-medium bowler Sadaf Hussain.
Four Test caps along with a number of players from the West Indies Cricket High Performance Centre have been named in the Vice Chancellor’s squad.
West Indies vice-captain Dwayne Bravo will use the match to get a run-out to see how far he has recovered from knee surgery, following an injury during the first match of the World Cup, which forced him to return home.
Fast bowler Fidel Edwards remains on the comeback trail, following back surgery that sidelined him for most of last year.
Opening batsman Omar Philips, the Combined Campuses & Colleges captain, will lead the side, and gets a chance to impress again, so too, wicketkeeper/ batsman Chadwick Walton, who play for Jamaica this year, after spending a few seasons with the CCC.
The HPC recruits are all rounder Nkrumah Bonner, wicketkeeper/batsman Kyle Corbin, and leg-spinning all-rounder Keron Cottoy.
The rest of the squad comprises several players that have appeared in recent times for the CCC.
Squads:UWI VICE CHANCELLOR’S XI (from): Omar Phillips (captain), Miles Bascombe, Nkrumah Bonner, Carlos Brathwaite, Dwayne Bravo, Kyle Corbin, Keron Cottoy, Fidel Edwards, Kevin McClean, Gilford Moore, Kjorn Ottley, Shervon Penco, Raymon Reifer, Chadwick Walton
PAKISTAN (from): Shahid Afridi (captain), Misbah-ul-Haq (vice captain), Abdur Rehman, Ahmed Shahzad, Asad Shafiq, Hammad Azman, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Salman, Sadaf Hussain, Saeed Ajmal, Tanveer Ahmed, Taufeeq Umar, Umar Akmal, Usman Salahuddin, Wahab Riaz