Afridi, Umar Akmal recalled for West Indies tour

	Shahid Afridi earned a recall, after being dropped from the Champions Trophy squad © AFP  Enlarge
Related Links Players/Officials: Mohammad Rizwan | Shahid Afridi | Umar Akmal | Zulfiqar Babar Series/Tournaments: Pakistan tour of West Indies Teams: Pakistan

Shahid Afridi and Umar Akmal have been recalled to Pakistan's ODI and T20 squads for the limited-overs tour of the West Indies later this month. Two notable players who have been dropped from the Champions Trophy squad are wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and allrounder Shoaib Malik.

Fast bowler Umar Gul, who last played in March during the South Africa tour, was sidelined again as he hadn't yet recovered from his knee surgery.

The ODI squad features the uncapped 21-year-old wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, as a backup to Akmal, who was picked as the first-choice wicketkeeper. Ahmed Shehzad, the opening batsman, has been recalled to both squads. Zulfiqar Babar, 34, who has been part of the domestic circuit for more than ten years, figures in the T20 squad.

Pakistan were let down by their senior batsmen in the Champions Trophy in England as the side failed to pass 200 in their three games - the third match against India was rain-affected - only to be eliminated from the group stage. Malik managed just 25 runs in three matches, Kamran 23 and Farhat four in two. With the pitches in the West Indies expected to be slower, the selectors have gone with one less seamer, dropping Ehsan Adil.

Pakistan squads ODI squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal (wk), Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Asad Ali, Umar Amin, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Abdur Rehman, Haris Sohail T20 squad: Mohammad Hafeez (capt), Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shehzad, Haris Sohail, Umar Akmal (wk), Hammad Azam, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, Asad Ali, Umar Amin, Zulfiqar Babar, Junaid Khan

Afridi had been dropped from the ODI squad twice in the last six months after hitting a slump with both bat and ball. He was first dropped for the one-day leg of the India tour in January before making a comeback in South Africa, but was left out again for the Champions Trophy. In the 21 ODIs since January 2012, Afridi has picked up 15 wickets at 57.13 and scored 308 runs at 19.25. He had been training at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore over the past couple of weeks, and passed the fitness test.

The captain Misbah-ul-Haq defended Afridi's inclusion but added that he wasn't necessarily an automatic selection in the XI. Misbah said Afridi was picked as an 'optional' allrounder who can bat at No.7 and bowl spin.

"He is an option who can help us on slower tracks (in the West Indies)," Misbah said when asked how difficult it was to pick an out-of-form player. "Malik was the one who had been helping us out with six to seven overs and was handy with the bat as well so Afridi has been recalled in place of Malik as an extra allrounder who can roll his arm on turning tracks and contribute quick runs at No.7.

"But it doesn't mean he is automatically in the XI. We first have to look at the conditions and then take a call. We are happy with the selection of 16 players and I will be ready to shoulder the responsibility of any result."

Umar Akmal was dropped from the Test side last year and was subsequently was axed from the ODI side this year. He had been working on his wicketkeeping skills at the NCA over the last two weeks under the coach Dav Whatmore. When asked if wicketkeeping would be an additional burden on him, chief selector Iqbal Qasim said that Umar Akmal was "comfortable with wicketkeeping and the decision had been taken with his consent."

"We have also added Mohammad Rizwan as a backup wicketkeeper but Umar will be doing most of the glove work and Rizwan will also be tried but it depends on the situation," Qasim said.

Umar Akmal has kept wicket in seven ODIs and the selectors have hinted at a short-term and experimental role, as his dual role could help the balance of the side.

Kohli's captaincy in focus against favourite opposition

Match facts

Tuesday, July 2
Start time 0930 (1430 GMT)

	With MS Dhoni ruled out of the series, will Virat Kohli find his leading light? © Associated Press  Enlarge
Related Links News : Injured Dhoni ruled out of tri-series Matches: India v Sri Lanka at Kingston Series/Tournaments: West Indies Tri-Nation Series Teams: India | Sri Lanka

Big Picture

Triangular tournaments can be hard on the ego of the team that leaves the competition first. Unlike a bigger multi-team tournament, there is no consolatory semi-final finish, or a bronze medal. There is only a lonely last place. This series has just started, but with West Indies nine points clear of both India and Sri Lanka, that last-place tag, for now, has gravitated towards the two subcontinent sides. The familiar foes, who have played each other in five different countries in the last couple of years, both need a win in the last match of the series at Sabina Park to ensure some breathing space before the entourage moves to Port of Spain.

That these two teams know each other inside out is common knowledge. While the familiarity has worked in India's favour as their batsmen have decoded the unconventionality of Sri Lanka's attack, the same can't be said about the latter. They have repeatedly wilted against India's simple game plan - 'whatever you score, we'll do better'. The result is that when the two meet, it is almost like India's XI is up against Sri Lanka's IX, with the threat posed by Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis to other teams reduced to a dud against India batsmen.

In cricket, however, most of the times, it is not a test of man-to-man strength. A special innings, an outstanding spell or even an exceptional instance of fielding is all that is required to overcome an opposition. On Friday, it was Chris Gayle who did that; on Sunday, it was Johnson Charles who blazed away. Sri Lanka have players who can do that as well - Kumar Sangakkara showed it against England in a tall chase at The Oval during the Champions Trophy - but the question is, can they do it against India?

India's juggernaut was brought to a halt on Sunday by West Indies, but only just. West Indies' bowlers set a template on how to stifle India's stroke-makers on a slow pitch, and their batsmen then rolled along comfortably as the surface eased out. In the absence of MS Dhoni, who didn't take the field after injuring his hamstring while batting, India fought hard, but were tripped by a resolute last-wicket stand. Virat Kohli, the stand-in captain, admitted the team missed Dhoni's calmness during that frantic ending.

Sri Lanka haven't been in their best form, but as West Indies proved, this young Indian side is beatable. With Dhoni ruled out of the rest of this series, the imbalance between the two sides has slightly been redressed.

Form guide

India LWWWW (Most recent first, last five completed matches)
Sri Lanka LLWWL

In the spotlight

Virat Kohli's reputation in world cricket received a huge boost the day he hammered the Sri Lanka bowling for a breathtaking century in Hobart in February 2012 . He scored two more against Sri Lanka in his next two matches, then another one three matches later. Since then, he has gone through a lean phase against other attacks. But when India met Sri Lanka in the Champions Trophy semi-final, Kohli helped himself to an unbeaten 58, dispelling any doubts about which team is his favourite opposition. In Kingston, Kohli will be burdened with captaincy, too, and it remains to be seen if he can flourish this time.

There is no doubt that Lasith Malinga has been one of the leading limited-overs bowlers in world cricket in recent times but what has been hard to fathom is why a top bowler has been unable to come up with a counter-strategy against Indian batsmen. He has ample skill, pace and variations in his armoury, but still he has failed to find the right combination that would work against the India batsmen. Players evolve during their careers but can Malinga do it?

Team news

While Ambati Rayudu was named as the replacement for Dhoni, the only reserve India batsman at the moment in the Caribbean is M Vijay, the opener. If he is included, the batting order will need a careful rejig. It is hard to see the team disturbing Rohit Sharma or Shikhar Dhawan at the top of the order.

India (probable) 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 M Vijay, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Umesh Yadav

Sri Lanka's move to open with Mahela Jayawardene and Upul Tharanga paid dividends, but the rest of their batting slowed the innings down on Friday. But they do not have much room to wiggle in their batting order. However, one move they might consider given the slow nature of the Kingston pitch could be to include Sachithra Senanayake.

Sri Lanka (probable) 1 Mahela Jayawardene, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Lahiru Thirimanne, 7 & 8 two of Ajantha Mendis/Sachithra Senanayake/Jeevan Mendis, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Lasith Malinga

Pitch and conditions

The conditions at Sabina Park have meant batsmen have struggled for fluency in the first half of the match and they are likely to stay the same. It is a slow pitch with some lateral movement early on, but it eases out during the second half. Just like West Indies did both times, the team that wins the toss will prefer to field.

Stats and trivia

• India and Sri Lanka have played 41 ODIs against each other in the last five years - that is 15 more than the next most-prolific match-up of Bangladesh-Zimbabwe. Overall, the two teams have met each other 140 times in ODIs, also a record. Australia-West Indies have played against each other 135 times.
• It's not a surprise then that three Sri Lankans and four Indians have scored more than 1000 runs in such contests in the last five years, the top-seven batting efforts against a particular team. Shane Watson, with 930 runs against England, is the eighth batsman in this list.
• The India and Sri Lanka bowlers haven't done quite as well as their batting counterparts. It's understandable since most of these matches are played on flat wickets. For wickets taken against a particular opposition in the last five years, three Sri Lanka bowlers are in the top 10 for doing it against India. Lasith Malinga is there, too, but the opposition in his case is Australia. Only one India bowler - Zaheer Khan v Sri Lanka - makes it to the list.

Quotes

"There were times when you are under pressure and you miss him (Dhoni) because he remains calm under pressure."
Stand-in India captain Virat Kohli on the narrow loss to West Indies

No sympathy for Amir

It's likely Butt approached Amir in the first place because he saw in him a susceptibility to temptation © PA Photos  Enlarge

Related Links Ian Chappell : Make captains allies in the fight against corruption News : Amir must focus on rehabilitation - Lorgat News : Full transcript of Mohammad Amir interview News : I was tricked into spot-fixing - Amir News : PCB chairman wants Amir return News : Treat Amir more leniently - Brearley In Focus: Corruption in cricket | The spot-fixing case Players/Officials: Mohammad Amir | Mohammad Asif | Salman Butt Teams: Pakistan

If the spot-fixing saga were ever made into a Bollywood film, you can be sure that the centrepiece will be a hushed scene in which Salman Butt coercesMohammad Amir. In his interview to Michael Atherton, Amir spoke of being duped in a hotel parking lot, but for Bollywood a more appropriate setting would perhaps be a dark alley. There would have to be a build-up, with sinister camera angles and a creepy musical score, as Butt takes pains to get himself and Amir well away from earshot. Then a whispered conversation would ensue.

The scriptwriter would have to decide how much guilt to ascribe to Amir. In this he or she would hardly be alone, for it is something the entire cricket world has been struggling with. After his confession and conviction, there is no longer any doubt that Amir committed the act. But was he a reluctant and naïve pawn in Butt's manipulative hands or a willing participant eager to cash in?

Ambiguous characters often make for great cinema, so the scriptwriter might get away with infusing Amir's character with tantalising hints of both postures. Yet in real life this would be most unsatisfying. Where Butt carries a perpetual smirk on his face and Mohammad Asif comes across as a bit of a seasoned jailbird, Amir's youth, talent and innocent looks appeal to the nurturing streak within us. We want a precise assessment of his guilt and intentions. We want to read his mind. If he did indeed rush into the spot-fixing scam with excitement and glee and the smell of money overpowering his senses, then we'll spare him no mercy. But we want to be absolutely certain before we take that step.

People keep pointing to Amir's humble background as an explanation for why he might have succumbed to the temptation of quick riches. But corruption is hardly a monopoly of the poor; the wealthy fall prey to it just as much. There are also suggestions that Amir somehow did not appreciate the scale and significance of his act, that the bowling of two deliberate no-balls in exchange for money did not strike him as being particularly criminal. This is laughable, because by the time of the ill-fated Lord's Test, Amir had already been in the thick of international cricket for over a year, having played 13 Tests, 15 ODIs, and 18 T20 internationals.

In fact, like all international players, Amir had been explicitly communicated the ICC's code of conduct by the PCB, and been lectured on it at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. He had played under the captaincy of Younis Khan, a scrupulously honest role model. If he still did not realise that deliberate underperformance was horribly wrong, it shows callous arrogance, insensitivity and cold-heartedness, not naivety or innocence.

There is no question that Butt was the mastermind. He could have picked others for accomplices - and may well have tried - but in all likelihood he solicited Amir because he sensed the right of kind of permissive ingredients in Amir's character. To understand the psyche of these spot-fixers, it helps to refer to the context of Pakistani society, which is deeply permeated with a culture of corruption. "Innocent is he who does not get caught," go the lyrics of a socially conscious song that is a favourite of local FM stations. The subtext is that there are many visible examples of people who bend the rules, get rewarded, and get away with it. This is probably why Butt's approach appeared attractive and Amir did not rebuff him.

	To understand the psyche of the spot-fixers, it helps to refer to the context of Pakistani society, which is deeply permeated with a culture of corruption. "Innocent is he who does not get caught," go the lyrics of a popular song

Amir's mindset is also betrayed by the fact that he passed up opportunities to come clean. He could have confessed right away, called a friend in the media, spoken to someone in the family, opened up to his boyhood coach and mentor. He did none of that. Even during the ICC hearings held in Doha early last year, he chose to plead innocent. He lied well and with conviction.

If we are fair and do not allow ourselves to be charmed by youthful looks and boyish manners, we will not shed any tears for Amir. We should appreciate that he does not deserve sympathy and concessions any more than do Butt or Asif. There should be no lessening of his sentence, no shortcut for his return to international cricket. The value of deterrence in this scenario cannot be underestimated. No stone should be left unturned to ensure that would-be spot-fixers are not seduced by the possibility that they might get away with it.

At the same time, cricket as a sport owes it to Amir to keep the door open for his rehabilitation. In psychiatric medicine there is a fine tradition of drug addicts becoming addiction counsellors after getting treatment. This is an ideal parallel for Amir, in that he could become a crusading champion in the fight against cricket corruption. The ICC, the PCB, and the cricket establishment generally would do well to embrace him as such. Mohammad Amir the confessed spot-fixer, who was once a celebrated heir to Pakistan's fast-bowling dynasty, now going around warning young talent to stay clean: his credibility will be unmatched.

Let us therefore forget about hastening Amir's return to the bowling crease, for he must be fully punished if the gains from the spot-fixing convictions are to have a lasting impact. But we must give him this reforming opportunity to contribute to the health, welfare and future of the game. Amir had ambitions of joining the ranks of Pakistan's grand masters, but this alternative legacy will be no less important.

Butt admits to fixing, apologises

Salman Butt has accepted the finding of the ICC tribunal on his involvement in spot-fixing © AFP  Enlarge

Related Links News : Butt ready to begin rehabilitation process News : Butt, Asif asked to admit fixing News : Ashraf suggests route back for Butt and Asif In Focus: The spot-fixing case Players/Officials: Salman Butt Teams: Pakistan

Salman Butt, the banned former Pakistan captain, has publicly admitted to his part in spot-fixing for the first time and issued an apology. He has also indicated his willingness to participate in PCB and ICC rehabilitation programmes and said he still retains ambitions of returning to international cricket.

Butt was given a five-year ban, with another five suspended, from all cricket by the ICC for his part in a scam during the Lord's Test in August 2010. He also served time in prison in England.

In April, Butt and his former team-mate Mohammad Asif lost their appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for the suspensions to be reduced and Dave Richardson, the ICC's chief executive, called on them to admit their wrongdoing and cooperate with the ICC's anti-corruption and security unit (ACSU).

"I admit the decision of the ICC tribunal," Butt said in a brief statement to the media in Lahore. "I said it before and am saying again, that to all those who have been disappointed by my actions I do apologise for them. Also, the [negative] effect it had on cricket's integrity, I would like to apologise for that.

"I want to insist, to all those playing and wanting to play cricket, they must stay away from such wrongdoings because it negatively effects them and the game of cricket."

There will be no immediate implication in the wake of the apology. Butt will have to serve the five-year ban, compulsory under the ACSU code. The remaining five years of his 10-year ban is suspended. After the apology he has to start rehabilitation. In addition to doing that, he has to tell the whole truth to the ACSU and PCB. If he can do all that then he could resume playing, provided he has satisfied ACSU and agrees to further monitoring.

Butt also made another request for a softening of his ICC ban, so that he could play domestic cricket before a possible return for Pakistan. Zaka Asraf, the currently suspended PCB chairman, had previously indicated that there could be a route back for Butt and Asif, once their suspensions had been lifted.

"I want to give my availability for any PCB rehab programme and from the ICC," Butt said. "Since I have only two years left of my ban, I request the ICC to allows me to play in domestic cricket. So by the time my ban ends, I can be available for national selection."

Mohammad Amir, the third Pakistan player found guilty of conspiring to bowl deliberate no-balls at Lord's, also served a custodial sentence in England and received a five-year ban from the ICC. The PCB's interim chairman, Najam Sethi, said earlier in the week that he would request that the ICC consider reducing the suspension. Amir is still only 21, while Butt is 28 and Asif 30.

Kyle Mills sets up Auckland's crushing win

Sialkot Stallions entered their maiden Champions League T20 with an awe-inspiring domestic record. They had won Pakistan's Twenty20 competition seven out of nine times and possess a world-record winning streak of 25 matches. However, on a Wanderers pitch that bounced and seamed, they were undone by Auckland Aces' pace attack and their own desire to swing with abandon.
The predominant features of Sialkot's innings were batsmen playing and missing and an abundance of dot balls; their attempts at counter-attacking were short lived. Their batsmen cleared the Wanderers' boundaries ten times but managed to score only 130. It was the third-lowest total for an innings that contained ten sixes; the first two were chases in which the target was easily achieved.
The target was well below par and Auckland's openers, Martin Guptill and Lou Vincent, handled the bounce better than their counterparts did. The opening stand of 32 put the chase on course and the second-wicket stand of 51 between Guptill and Azhar Mahmood gave them an opportunity to win with a high net run-rate. They lost a couple of wickets in quick succession but New Zealand's domestic champions managed to get home with 17 balls to spare.
Gareth Hopkins, the Auckland captain, got what he wanted despite losing the toss, and Kyle Mills and Michael Bates made excellent use of the conditions. On a green-tinged pitch, the right and left-arm combination harried the Sialkot openers with short-of-a-length deliveries. After Imran Nazir was smacked painfully on the glove, Shakeel Ansar attempted a big hit in Bates' first over and holed out to mid-on. The No. 3 batsman Haris Sohail took 12 deliveries to get off the mark, before Nazir ended two consecutive maiden overs by pulling Bates over the fine-leg boundary.
There were 24 dot balls in the first five overs, after which Sialkot were 11 for 1. Mills' figures were 3-1-4-0. The sixth went for plenty. Mahmood's length was poor and Sohail hit him for two sixes in an over that cost Auckland 18. Both Sohail and Nazir, however, were caught at point attempting aggressive shots in successive overs, leaving Sialkot 30 for 3.
Shahid Yousuf was Sialkot's best chance at recovery and he hit Andre Adams, bowling extremely quick for a five-step run-up, for consecutive sixes in the ninth over. In the next, Yousuf took two fours off Colin Munro's only over. At the other end, however, Shoaib Malik was struggling, scoring only 3 off his first 11 deliveries.
Yousuf was reprieved twice off Ronnie Hira - Hopkins failed to collect and stump the batsmen - before the spinner took a catch off his own bowling to stunt the Sialkot recovery. Malik's innings ended via a catch at long-off and Sialkot slumped to 97 for 6 before the tail got stuck into Hira's final over, the 18th. Naved-ul-Hasan and Ali Khan took 21 runs off it. Mills, however, returned to clamp down on Sialkot once again. His last over went for only two runs and he finished with figures of 4-1-6-2.
Faced with a middling target, Auckland began the chase aggressively. Vincent charged, pulled and slashed to provide the early propulsion. He was beaten often as well, but managed 20 off 16 balls before being caught at third man on the cut. Guptill began at around run a ball and steered Auckland through the first half of the chase. His only six came in the tenth over, a 98 metre blow over long-on, and he was out in the next, pulling powerfully to the fielder on the midwicket boundary.
Then followed Auckland's most tentative phase, as Mahmood and Colin de Grandhomme were dismissed in the space of four balls by Sarfraz Ahmed, a left-arm bowler who delivers off the right foot but well after his front foot as landed. The asking-rate, however, was never an issue and Anaru Kitchen and Colin Munro hacked at the equation with a series of powerful blows to accelerate the finish.

Sialkot Stallions finally get stage to strut their stuff

Two of the teams at this year's Champions League would have made their first appearance in at the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2008.

The Titans have had the opportunity to qualify every year since then but only got it right in 2012. The other, the Sialkot Stallions, did not have that same chance. Relations between India and Pakistan soured after the Mumbai terror attacks of November 2008 and Pakistan players and teams found themselves shut out of the competition.

If a representative from Pakistan had been let into the tournament in the previous three editions, that team would have been Sialkot in two of them. They were Pakistan's domestic winners in 2009 and 2011, and 2012 - Lahore Lions took the crown in 2010. And if the Champions League existed before that, Sialkot would have participated in most of those editions too.

So prolific has their form in the shortest format of the game been, that Sialkot have won seven of the nine editions of Pakistan's domestic 20-overs competition. They also hold the world record for the number of consecutive victories by any team in T20 cricket, with 25 wins.

As far as reputations go, Sialkot enter the qualifying stage with one of the biggest and theirs serves as proof that they belong at this level, something their captain Shoiab Malik has never doubted. "Wherever cricket is being played, Pakistan cricketers should go and play there," he said. "We know there are certain rules and regulations, but that is my opinion."

Sialkot, Malik believes, will take their chance to show what they are about. "We really like this format and we have done well in it. This tournament is an opportunity for us."

The two other teams in their group, Auckland and Hampshire admit to knowing very little about the Pakistan champions but the numbers and Malik's strong words should be an indicator of what they are up against.

Part of their prowess could come from the mystery factor. "There is an advantage for us because the other teams haven't seen some of our youngsters who have not played international cricket," Malik said. He mentioned bowlers Umaid Asif (who is "not young though, actually quite old") and Bilawal Bhatti (whose "name may be very difficult for you to pronounce but just look at it on his shirt") as examples.

Pakistan's newest international left-arm spinner Raza Hasan, who Malik said the media "must have noticed at the World T20," is also in the Sialkot squad and big things are expected of him. Malik seems to want bigger things from the more experienced members of the squad though.

He hopes the likes of Imran Nazir, Naved-ul-Hasan and Sarfraz Ahmed can show that although Pakistan, as a place, has been in the international wilderness, their domestic competition is thriving. Importantly, he pointed out that these players have travelled enough and played enough to be more than ready to compete in a tournament like this.

"We have some players who were with the Pakistan team and a lot of our others have been playing in England for the past 10 or 12 years," he said. "They have that awareness of the game and they have played with international cricketers before."

Despite their bravado, Sialkot lost a warm-up match to Yorkshire by 23 runs on arrival. Malik blamed a heavy travelling schedule and poor timing for the defeat. "We arrived in South Africa at around midnight on Saturday evening and played the game the next morning. We were very tired and we are still a little tired. But it's great to be here, it's a great tournament and we are know we are prepared for it."