KARACHI, (Reuters) – Pakistan dropped experienced all-rounder Abdul Razzaq yesterday for the forthcoming one-dayers in India, the first bilateral series between the neighbours since 2007.
Fellow all-rounder Shahid Afridi, 32, was also omitted for the one-dayers but retained his place in the Twenty20 squad.
“We have tried to infuse new blood into both teams as we feel the way forward in these formats is to try out new faces,” said chief selector Iqbal Qasim. “We want to give exposure to more young players.”
Left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar was picked for the one-dayers and Twenty20 internationals while fellow rookie, paceman Asad Ali, was selected for the shorter format only.
Razzaq, 33, has played 265 one-dayers and 30 Twenty20 internationals.
India and Pakistan will play three one-dayers and two Twenty20 games in the series. The first is a T20 match in Bangalore on Dec. 25.
Bilateral cricket between the nuclear-armed neighbours was suspended after the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which 166 people were killed.
India blamed Pakistan-based militants for the incident.
