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Summary Pakistan paceman Wahab Riaz has been overlooked for the squad touring Bangladesh.
He has been dropped reportedly for his name being mentioned in the spot-fixing trial in London.Chief selector Mohammad Illyas said Wahab had been dropped for the tour after consultations between the selectors and team management.We have picked the best possible team, Illyas told a news conference in Lahore on Monday.Wahab was part of the team that played a test series against Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates last month but was then dropped for the one-day series and sent home soon after his name was mentioned in the trial.During the trial, an undercover reporter told the jury that Pakistani player agent Mazhar Majeed had told him he had several cricketers working for him and mentioned the names of Wahab and discarded wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal.At the Southwark Crown Court on Nov. 1, Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were handed jail terms ranging from six to 30 months for taking bribes to fix parts of a test match during Pakistans tour to England last year.The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was unwilling to comment on Wahabs exclusion but sources within the body confirmed to Reuters that the bowler was sidelined because his name was mentioned during the trial.The PCB has decided not to select any players whose names were linked to the spot-fixing trial, one source, who wished to remain anonymous, said.Wahabs exclusion is a blow to the team after a string of good performances in domestic and international cricket since making his test debut at the Oval last year.This has lately been dilemma of the Pakistani cricket that all its shining talent are soon trapped into controversies one way or the other.His exclusion forced selectors to make one change to the test squad that beat Sri Lanka, replacing Wahab with young paceman Mohammad Talha.The selectors have retained the same one-day squad participating in the ongoing series against Sri Lanka in the Gulf.Bangladesh is always a formidable side at home and we didnt want to take risks. As it is the team is on a winning momentum and we want that to continue, Illyas added.Pakistan will play two tests, three one-dayers and a Twenty20 international in Bangladesh from Nov. 26.Test squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Taufiq Umar, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik, Adnan Akmal, Junaid Khan, Aizaz Cheema, Mohammad Talha, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Umar Gul.One-day international squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Umar Akmal,, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Junaid Khan, Aizaz Cheema, Sohail Tanvir, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman and Umar Gul.
