Ajmal included in Pakistan’s preliminary squad
Pakistan have named spinner Saeed Ajmal in their 30-man preliminary squad for the World Cup, despite the bowler not yet being cleared of chucking by the ICC's testing centre.
Ajmal has been banned since September after testing found his action to be more than double the legal limit of 15 degrees of elbow flex. He has been remodeling his action since then, and has yet to be retested.
The final 15-man squad will be named in January, giving Ajmal more time to make sure his action is right.
The bowling attack is well stocked though, if Ajmal cannot play, as Zulfiqur Babar and Yasir Shah performed superbly in Ajmal's absence in the Tests against Australia and New Zealand in the UAE.
Otherwise, wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal has been recalled, while his brother Umar is named as a pure batsman. Kamran will be back-up for Sarfraz Ahmed, who has been in cracking form with the gloves and the bat.
The fast bowling attack is a strong one too, with veterans Junaid Khan, Sohail Tanvir and Umar Gull all named, while Mohammad Irfan and Mohammad Talha will hope for inclusion in the final line-up.
Chief selector Moin Khan said of the squad: "At the moment, winning or losing aside, team Pakistan is performing adequately well in all three formats of the game.
"The belief in the think tank is that the squad holds immense potential and promise to perform in any conditions. The most positive aspect is that some of our foremost proven talents have overcome physical issues and are raring to be given an opportunity to have a tilt at the global honours.
"In our assessment, by the time the five 50-over games in the UAE, the away short ODI series against New Zealand as well as the practice games are over in the next two months, Pakistan will be close to hitting its peak."
Squad: Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Nasir Jamshed, Sharjeel Khan, Sami Aslam, Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Sohaib Maqsood, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Bilawal Bhatti, Sarfraz Ahmed, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Umar Gul, Ehsan Adil, Mohammad Talha, Anwar Ali, Sohail Tanvir, Saeed Ajmal, Zulfiqar Babar, Raza Hasan, Yasir Shah
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