KARACHI, 6 March 2004 — Pakistan yesterday recalled popular all-rounder Shahid Afridi and experienced off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq to a 16-member squad for the first two One-Day matches against India starting next week.

“We feel that we needed more all-rounders to cope against the Indian batting powerhouse and that’s why we have included three all-rounders with Afridi top in it,” Pakistan’s chief selector Wasim Bari said. Indian players will arrive in Lahore Wednesday for their first tour of Pakistan in years, as relations between the nuclear-armed rivals thaw.

They play a warm up match there on Thursday ahead of the first of five One-Day matches in Karachi on March 13.

Off-spinner Saqlain had fallen out of favor with the selectors after playing against South Africa last year. “Saqlain is handy in both forms of the game and has a good record against India and we think this is the best side we could choose against India who are playing well in the One-Day matches,” said Bari, a former wicketkeeper and captain.

Saqlain, who also plays for English county Surrey, last year criticized coach Javed Miandad for omitting him and had to apologize before a disciplinary committee for his outburst. The second One-Day match will be played at Rawalpindi on March 16, the third in Peshawar on March 19, followed by two day-night matches in Lahore on March 21 and 23.

Another all-rounder in the squad is Rana Naveedul Hassan, who played two One-Day games in Sharjah last year. Pacer Rao Iftikhar, the second highest wicket-taker behind Hassan in Pakistan’s current domestic season, is uncapped. “We have taken into account the performances in the domestic seasons and that’s why we have brought in Hasan and Iftikhar,” Bari said.

Pakistan squad: Inzamam ul-Haq (captain), Yousuf Youhanna (vice captain), Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Moin Khan, Shoaib Akhtar, Shabbir Ahmed, Mohammad Sami, Saqlain Mushtaq, Misbahul Haq, Rana Naveedul Hassan, Rao Iftikhar.

Tendulkar Can’t Wait

to Have a Go

Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar is licking his lips at the prospect of playing Test cricket in Pakistan again, even though he admits feeling uneasy about the hype surrounding the historic series. Tendulkar made his debut on India’s 1989?90 tour of Pakistan as a teenager but India have not played another Test series in Pakistan since then owing to political tensions between the two neighboring countries.

“It’s a great feeling and I am really excited,” Tendulkar said in Bombay yesterday after training at a ground in suburban Bandra where he used to play as a young boy. “At that time I was 16 years old, I was very young,” he said of the 1989 trip. “Now having been around for 14-and-a-half years it’s exciting after such a long time (that) you are getting an opportunity to play in Pakistan.”

Tendulkar also led India in 1997 to play three one-dayers in Pakistan but the latest series is generating huge interest because of a recent thaw in relations between the nations. The tour has also been hyped as a duel between Tendulkar and Pakistan’s express bowler Shoaib Akhtar.

Shoaib yorked Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid off successive balls to bowl his team to victory in the Asian Test championship in 1999 while Tendulkar smashed him over point for a stunning six in his match-winning 98 at the 2003 World Cup.

However, Tendulkar said: “It’s not like that. One factor which is always common is India vs Australia or India vs Pakistan. Two countries playing against each other rather than two individuals playing against each other.”

He appealed to India’s cricket-mad fans and the media not to get too carried away. “I want to tell the people to keep a balanced mind,” he said. “There will be some good days, there will be some bad days. I think everyone should take responsibility. Not only players, but spectators and the media too. Whatever anyone speaks or writes should be correctly thought out.

Pakistan Beat West Indies

to Lift Youth World Cup

Middle-order batsman Asif Iqbal struck a gritty half-century as Pakistan defeated the West Indies by 25 runs to win their maiden youth World Cup title in Dhaka yesterday. Iqbal (54) shared a crucial 97-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Salman Qadir (42) to help his team score 230-9 after electing to bat at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

Some tight bowling and a spate of run outs then denied the West Indies, who were bowled out for 205 under lights. Iqbal struck three boundaries and a six off 72 deliveries while Qadir hit a solitary four during his 63-ball knock as they rescued Pakistan from a precarious 81-4. “Coming in to bat when the chips were down, we decided to play cautiously,” Iqbal said about his partnership with Qadir. “We did what was needed at that stage.”

Left-arm spinner Rishi Bachan, who had earlier pegged Pakistan back with a three-wicket haul, ensured Iqbal did not stretch his innings as he came up with a superb direct throw from extra-cover for a run out dismissal. Opener Adnan Zaheer (33) and Zulqarnain Haider (23 not out) were the others to chip in with useful scores for Pakistan.

In reply, the West Indies started strongly through openers Tishan Maraj (32) and Xavier Marshall (26), who put on 69 runs, but the others failed against the spin attack led by Tariq Mahmood (3-34). Captain Denesh Ramdin (36) gave the West Indies a ray of hope but Pakistan wrested the initiative with some tight fielding which got them four run outs.