Pak squad leave for Abu Dhabi to play against WI

KARACHI: Young opening batsman Khurrum Manzoor replaced ailing Nasir Jamshed, as a 15-member Pakistan squad led by Shoaib Malik on Sunday left for Abu Dhabi to play a three-match One-Day International series against West Indies.
Jamshed, who cleared the fitness Test despite running high fever, was replaced by Manzoor before the departure.
"I am happy that Nasir showed great team spirit, himself came and told us he is not feeling well and is not fit for the series.Apparently he still needs rest to recuperate properly from his recent bout of malaria," Malik said before their departure.
The Pakistan skipper rubbished the speculation that the side would miss the services of senior batsman Mohammad Yousuf, who recently switched over to the 'rebel' Indian Cricket League.
"I think we have said enough about Yousuf. But I am confident that someone will step in and make up for his absence. There is a lot of talents in the team and we have some good players in the wings. So I am sure we can move ahead," Malik said.
He hoped that the series, which will start from November 12, will be closely-contested one and said, "It is a neutral ground so we start off on an even kneel. The West Indies will be on a high having won the Stanford Challenge match and they have brought in some exciting young players. So it is going to be a good series and I don't want to make predictions about a clean sweep from now," he said.
We need to play as much international cricket as we can because next year we have the Champions Trophy and the Twenty20 World Cup," Malik added.
The skipper also exuded confidence on the new coach Intikhab Alam, although refused to compare him with Geoff Lawson, who was sacked by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
"I don't want to compare Intikhab with Geoff Lawson. Both are different persons, but definitely Intikhab has a wealth of experience and there is a lot of respect for him in the team which is a very positive thing," Malik said.
Pakistan squad: Shoaib Malik (C), Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Salman Butt, Khalid Latif, Khurrum Manzoor, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar, Sohail Tanvir, Abdul Rauf, Saeed Ajmal.