LAHORE: Hard-hitting batter Usman Khan was Tuesday included in Pakistan’s squad for the Twenty20 international series against New Zealand, four days after he was banned by Emirates Cricket Board.
Usman, 28, was the second highest run scorer in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) last month with 430 in seven matches, while also on the books as a player in a United Arab Emirates (UAE) league.
The Emirates Cricket Board charged him with breaching his obligations to the Board after he attended a training camp for the Pakistan national team last month after the PSL ended.
He was banned from playing cricket in the UAE for five years, missing out on the chance to qualify as a national player for the Gulf state from 2025.
Selector Wahab Riaz justified Usman’s selection.
“Usman has been scoring runs for the last two-three years so he deserved selection and if there are any other issues Pakistan Cricket Board will be dealing with them,” Riaz told media while announcing the squad.
Babar Azam will lead the 17-man squad after he replaced Shaheen Shah Afridi as captain last month.
The five-match series against New Zealand will be played in Rawalpindi (April 18, 20 and 21) and Lahore (April 25 and 27).
Fast bowler Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim are also part of the squad after coming out of retirement.
Amir had abruptly announced his retirement in 2020 following non-selection in the team but continued to play league cricket around the world while Wasim retired last year.
“We will follow a rotation policy to keep our players fit for the World Cup which is our target,” said Riaz.
The Twenty20 World Cup will be held in the United States and the West Indies in June.
Another fast bowler, Haris Rauf, was left out after injuring his shoulder during the PSL.
Squad: Babar Azam (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir, Irfan Khan Niazi, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usama Mir, Usman Khan, Zaman Khan
UAE-banned Usman Khan in Pakistan squad for New Zealand T20Is
https://arab.news/m6e4z
UAE-banned Usman Khan in Pakistan squad for New Zealand T20Is
- Selector Wahab Riaz says Khan has consistently remained in good form and deserves to be in the team
- He says Pakistan will follow ‘rotation policy’ to keep players fit for the World Cup in the US, West Indies
Pakistan detains five men deported from Sharjah for using fake UK visas
- The group was taken into custody at Lahore airport and handed to the Anti-Human Smuggling Circle
- FIA says the five men obtained forged UK visas through agents after traveling to Malaysia this year
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities detained five citizens at Lahore airport after they were deported from Sharjah for attempting to travel to the United Kingdom on forged British visas, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said on Saturday.
The five men had initially traveled from Lahore to Malaysia earlier this year on visit visas, the agency said.
After their stay in Malaysia, it added, they allegedly tried to fly onward to the UK from Sharjah using counterfeit documents obtained through agents.
“Five Pakistani passengers were deported from Sharjah for possessing fake British visas,” the FIA said in its statement. “Upon arrival at Lahore airport, the deported passengers were taken into custody.”
Pakistan has tightened its crackdown on illegal immigration and human smuggling in recent years after a series of deadly boat tragedies involving its citizens attempting to reach Europe.
In July, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the government was targeting organized criminal networks and urging the public to use safe and legal pathways for overseas employment.
He said the state was expanding job opportunities at home and abroad but warned that irregular migration routes were dangerous and violated national and international law.
The FIA said all five men had been transferred to the Anti-Human Smuggling Circle in Lahore for further investigation.
According to its statement, the forged travel documents were acquired with the assistance of intermediaries, leading authorities in the United Arab Emirates to deny them entry and deport them to Pakistan.
The FIA said the inquiry into the visa fraud and the agents involved was ongoing.
