Umar Akmal was today dropped from the Pakistan squad for the T20 series against England later this month on disciplinary grounds.
The squad includes two newcomers from the Khyber Pakthunkhawa province in batsmen Rafatullah Mohmand and Ifthikar Ahmed.
The three-match T20 series will be held in the UAE. The first match will be played on November 26 at Dubai International Stadium, followed by the second game at the same venue on November 27 before the last one at Sharjah on November 30.
Chief selector Haroon Rasheed said that Akmal was dropped on the instructions of Pakistan Cricket Board as he has been issued with a show cause notice for bringing PCB and Pakistan cricket into disrepute.
"Umar Akmal had been penciled in for selection, but he has subsequently been dropped on instructions from the Board, as he has been issued with a show cause notice for bringing PCB and Pakistan Cricket into disrepute," Rasheed said in a press release.
"Having experience of playing first class cricket for many years, with his form, sound technique and fitness, and also given his fielding credentials, Riffatullah Mohmand has been afforded an opportunity as he was considered to have potential to feature in an international T20 competition as an opener," he said.
The chief selector said that Iftikhar has filled in the spot vacated by Younis Khan in ODIs.
"It was considered that he also be tried in the T20 format on the back of his performance on the domestic T20 circuit," Rasheed said.
Pakistan T20 squad: Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Riffatullah Mohmand, Shoaib Malik, Sohaib Maqsood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Anwar Ali, Imad Wasim (Subject to fitness, otherwise Bilal Asif), Imran Khan Junior, Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz, Aamir Yameen.
