Pakistan's selectors on Thursday dropped bowlers Danish Kaneria and Mohammad Sami while rewarding third Test centurion Faisal Iqbal with a berth in the 16-member squad for the first three one-day internationals against India.
Besides Faisal, the selectors also recalled all-rounders Shoaib Malik and Yasir Arafat to the squad, to be captained by the fit-again Inzamam-ul Haq.
Malik missed the third Test because of the sad demise of his father during the second Test while Arafat was a member of the Pakistan team that beat England 3-2 at home late last year.
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Faisal, 24, played his 17th and last one-day international 26 months ago against South Africa in
Rawalpindi. In 17 games, he scored 284 runs at little under 22.
"I am thankful to the selectors for keeping faith in my abilities. I will try to justify my recall and cement my place in the one-day squad if provided with an opportunity. Having said this, it is a matter of great honour for me to remain part of a star-studded squad," said Faisal, nephew of the legendary Javed Miandad.
Faisal, who scored a career-best 139 in Pakistan's series-winning 341-run victory, might not be the first choice batsman with Inzamam back in reckoning.
Inzamam said he has recovered from the back injury that forced him to miss the Karachi Test.
"The recovery progress from the back injury has been excellent and I am looking forward to playing in the one-day series," Inzamam said.
"Obviously, it was difficult to watch the third Test from the dressing room, but I am glad that we won the game and that is all what matters and counts. I look forward to maintain that pattern in the one-day series," he said.
The Multan batsman said his side would take these one-day matches as a "build-up" for 2007 World Cup.
"The one-day matches we play this year will be our build-up for next year's World Cup. We will try as many promising players as we can and experiment with different combinations so that when the squad for the prestigious event is finalised, we have a 360-degree view of the resources we have."
The five-match series opener will be played at Peshawar on February 6 followed by the second in Rawalpindi on February 11. The third will be held in Lahore on February 13 while the remaining two games are scheduled at Multan on February 16 and Karachi on February 19.
The squad: Inzamam-ul Haq (captain), Younis Khan (vice-captain), Salman Butt, Shoaib Malik, Imran Farhat, Mohammad Yousuf, Faisal Iqbal, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Yasir Arafat, Umer Gul and Arshad Khan.
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