Raja, Cheema, Sohail integrated in squad for Zimbabwe

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Raja, Cheema, Sohail

Pakistan have satisfied some of their reliable performer in domestic cricket by counting three uncapped players - top-order batsman Rameez Raja, legspinner Yasir Shah and seamer Aizaz Cheema - as well as fast bowler Sohail Khan, who has played only one Test, in the squad for the tour of Zimbabwe that starts on August 28.

There are also recalls for opening batsman Imran Farhat, who hasn't played for Pakistan since the one-day series next to South Africa in the UAE in October 2010, and left-arm fast bowler Sohail Tanvir, who was last built-in for the New Zealand tour earlier in the year.

The squad seems to be a new one, with the bowling attack in particular feature several new names and missing some of the senior players. Umar Gul, Tanvir Ahmed and Wahab Riaz, who have been Pakistan's three premier fast bowlers in new times, have all been rested, with Sohail Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Cheema and Junaid Khan making up the pace attack. There is also a alter in the spin department with Abdur Rehman being rested and Yasir being given an opportunity.

Pakistan's chief selector Mohsin Khan explains that the fresh look to the squad was an attempt to blood youngsters. "We have to bring in young players along with seniors so that they could be groomed," he said. "Because it's a short tour we have selected only one squad for all three format of the game and have rested Riaz and Gul in a hope to try out some youngsters."

Adnan Akmal has domestic the wicketkeeper's spot in the squad, meaning Mohammad Salman, who unsuccessful to make an impression with the bat in the West Indies and Ireland, makes way. Allrounder Hammad Azam also failed to have a crash on those tours and has been kept in the standbys to make place for Raja. Ahmed Shehzad, who was drop after the tour of the West Indies, has been left out again.

Another growth is the enclosure of Shoaib Malik, the former Pakistan captain, in the list of standbys. Malik has been concerned in a battle with the PCB, whose reliability commission has not clear him for selection since the contentious tour of England last year. Mohsin said Malik would only be built-in if he managed to obtain clearance from the PCB. Meanwhile, legspinner Danish Kaneria, who has taken his fight to get authorization to the Sindh High Court, continues to be ignored.

Raja's call-up comes on the back of reliable domestic presentation in all formats. He was the leading run-getter in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division One last season, and was top of the run charts again during the recent Faysal Bank Super Eight Twenty20 Cup. His performances in the T20 competition, which incorporated a 97 in the semi-final and a half-century in the final, led to calls for his enclosure in the national side.

Sohail Khan, Sohail Tanvir and Cheema were all lately part of an emerging player’s camp at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, where they received tips from former Pakistan fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz. Sohail Khan and Sohail Tanvir both bring themselves back into the attention during the Super Eight Twenty20 competition; the former took 14 wickets in Karachi Dolphins' road to the finals, while the latter captained Rawalpindi Rams to the title. Cheema, 31, earn his call-up from side to side another strong first-class season in which he took 57 wickets in eight games in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

Yasir frightened with his 16 wickets in four games during the Faysal Bank Pentangular Cup at the start of this year, and then took 3 for 29 for Pakistan A against Afghanistan in a one-dayer. Farhat also did well in the Pentangular, hitting a century and two fifties, and was leading run-getter in the domestic one-day rivalry before that.

Pakistan squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Taufiq Umar, Imran Farhat, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Rameez Raja junior, Adnan Akmal (wk), Saeed Ajmal, Yasir Shah, Sohail Tanvir, Sohail Khan, Junaid Khan, Aizaz Cheema.

Standbys: Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Khurram Manzoor, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Talha, Hammad Azam, Shoaib Malik (subject to clearance from PCB integrity committee)

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