Iqbal baffled by omission

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Batsman Faisal Iqbal has emerged aggrieved after being omitted from Pakistan's squad for next month's Test series against Sri Lanka.

Batsman Faisal Iqbal has emerged aggrieved after being omitted from Pakistan's squad for next month's Test series against Sri Lanka.

Iqbal has not played international cricket since January 2010, but has procured a solid stretch of form at first-class and List A level this season, including a great century in the Pakistan International Airlines' President's Cup One-Day Tournament fixture against the Port Qasim Authority.

"I have a simple question: why is Faisal Iqbal being held from playing for Pakistan team. Who is the power behind my exclusion and why are they not allowing me to play? Since my debut in 2001 players who debuted around me went playing on and on and even had thousands of comeback in the side. And I was dropped after my third comeback without even playing me in the XI," Iqbal told <i>Geo Super</i>.

"What am I going to do? I am scoring runs in domestic cricket, but gradually I have even been dropped from the central contracts as well so where should I go and put my case? I am a senior player and have served the country and this should not be the way I should be treated."

All-rounder Mohammad Hafeez, meanwhile, has been dropped – and batsman Umar Akmal recalled. The Sri Lankans and Pakistanis will meet for two Tests in Galle and Colombo between 6 and 18 August. Three ODIs will follow.

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