Pak selectors face 'Kamran dilemma' for Australia ODIs

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selection committee is facing a strong resistance from the current team management touring Australia as it has come out to fore that out-of-favour wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal is all but unacceptable for next month's ODI series Down Under.

The national selection committee, headed by former skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq with members Tauseef Ahmed, Wajahatullah Wasti and Wasim Haider, will on Saturday name the 15-man squad for the five-match ODI series against Australia, starting from January 13.

As per the Dawn, sources have revealed that ODI skipper Azhar Ali and head coach Mickey Arthur are reluctantly unhappy over the induction of Kamran in the squad as a batsman.

However, considering the outstanding recent batting form of Kamran during the just-ended Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship, the national selectors have made up their mind to include him in the squad.

Akmal, who has been sidelined from international scene since the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh, became something of a running joke in the cricketing world after his wicket-keeping fell way below the international standards.

As per the sources, both Azhar and Arthur are comfortable in retaining Mohammad Rizwan as the backup wicket-keeper to vice-captain Sarfraz Ahmed for the upcoming matches Down Under, hence their opposition of recalling Kamran.

The wicketkeeper-batsman, the veteran of 53 Tests, 154 ODIs and 54 T20Is, was also successful at the National T20 Cup, where he finished among the top scorers with 260 runs in eight matches.