Anwar, Haq drop out of Dhaka Cup (27 October 1998)
KARACHI, Oct 26: Pakistan suffered a double blow on Monday when Saeed Anwar and Inzamam-ul-Haq pulled out from the mini World Cup side
27-Oct-1998
27 October 1998
Anwar, Haq drop out of Dhaka Cup
The Dawn
KARACHI, Oct 26: Pakistan suffered a double blow on Monday when Saeed
Anwar and Inzamam-ul-Haq pulled out from the mini World Cup side.
Both the batsmen cited injuries as reasons for withdrawal.
The two have been replaced by Salim Elahi and Akhtar Sarfaraz - both
Pakistan A batsmen.
Pakistan team manager Azhar Zaidi said Anwar and informed of their
problems on Monday morning.
"Saeed Anwar said he had a stiff back because of dehydration. He had
been taking a heavy doze of antibiotics for an ear infection before
the start of the Sahara Cup.
"Inzamam had a badly bruised foot. Besides, he was also having
problems in his knee. After watching his name appear in the
newspapers for the Dhaka tournament, he (Inzamam) came to me and
informed that he would not be able to field and would also become a
liability.
"The message was conveyed to the selection committee," Zaidi said.
While the selection of Akhtar Sarfaraz is laudable, the inclusion of
Salim Elahi has raised several eye-brows. Elahi was not even
considered for selection in the Pakistan A team that leaves for New
Zealand on Oct 31 but finds a place in the national team.
Barring a century on debut in 1995-96 against Sri Lanka at
Gujranwala, Elahi has been a consistent failure. His latest
appearance for Pakistan was 18 months ago in the two-Test series
against Sri Lanka. In three innings, he scored only 11, including two
zeros.
Informed sources said Akhtar and Elahi have been included in the team
on the recommendation of the captain and coach.
However, the interesting point is that when the selectors announced
the team on Sunday, did they not know that Saeed Anwar and
Inzamam-ul-Haq were injured. Anwar had missed the third Test while
Inzamam was limping from the very first day and didn't come to field
on the fourth day.
No vice-captain would be appointed for the Dhaka tour, chairman of
the PCB Khalid Mahmood said. He stated that since it was a short
tour, there was no need of Aamir Sohail's deputy.
"But even if a situation arose, any of the senior player with the
consent of The Management will take charge of the team," he said from
Lahore.
The revised team is:
Aamir Sohail (captain), Shahid Afridi, Ijaz Ahmad, Salim Malik,
Yousuf Yohanna, Moin Khan, Wasim Akram, Azhar Mahmood, Shoaib Akhtar,
Aqib Javed, Arshad Khan, Saqlain Mushtaq, Salim Elahi and Akhtar
Sarfaraz.
Source :: The Dawn (www.dawn.com)