LAHORE, Pakistan, 2 August 2005 — Pakistan cricket captain Inzamam ul-Haq said yesterday he was honored at being appointed captain of an Asian XI which plays three one-day matches in the first-ever Afro-Asian Cup later this month.
“It’s a great honor for me and for my country” Inzamam told AFP.
A three-member Asian selection panel announced in Dubai yesterday that Inzamam will lead the Asian XI against the African XI.
The first match will be played at Centurion in South Africa on Aug. 17 while the remaining two are scheduled for Durban on Aug. 20 and 21.
Current Indian captain Rahul Dravid will be Inzamam’s deputy in a strong squad of 15 members.
The selection panel comprised former Pakistan captain Majid Khan, India’s Ravi Shastri, Sri Lankan Graeme Labrooy and Bangladesh’s Mohammed Shafiqul Haque.
Besides Inzamam, the other Pakistanis in the Asian squad are Yousuf Youhana, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Shoaib Akhtar.
Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan and Anil Kumble are the Indians in the team, while Sri Lankans Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas represent Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh has only one player, Mohammad Ashraful, in the Asian squad.
Inzamam’s appointment makes him a front-runner for the captaincy of a World XI which will take on Australia in three one-day matches and in a six-day Super Test to be held in Australia in October this year.
Inzamam, who has been Pakistan’s captain since September 2003, is in both the Test and one-day squads of 20 players shortlisted for the World XI.
England’s Michael Vaughan and South African Graeme Smith are the others vying for the World XI captaincy.
A final World XI team and a captain will be announced later this month.
Pakistan to Use Two Neutral Umpires in England One-Day Series
Pakistan will use two neutral umpires in the one-day matches against England after the International Cricket Council (ICC) allowed them to try out the idea, an official said yesterday.
“Our suggestion that two neutral umpires should be used (in all One-Day Internationals) instead of the prevailing one was not accepted by the ICC, but they have allowed Pakistan to use two neutral umpires for our England series,” Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan told reporters.
Currently two neutral umpires officiate in Test matches while one umpire from the home country stands with a neutral umpire in One-Day Internationals.
