News

Mohammad Sami recalled for tour of Australia

Mohammad Sami has been added to Pakistan's 16-man Test squad against Australia following the team management's request for an extra fast bowler

Cricinfo staff
15-Dec-2009
Mohammad Sami has been called up two years after his last Test, which was one to forget  •  AFP

Mohammad Sami has been called up two years after his last Test, which was one to forget  •  AFP

Mohammad Sami's international career has been revived after he was added to Pakistan's 16-man Test squad against Australia following the team management's request for an extra fast bowler. According to the Pakistan Cricket Board, Sami was recalled after the need for additional support to a fast-bowling contingent comprising Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer and Abdur Rauf was raised.
Gul, Asif and Aamer played in all three matches of the tied Test series and have little time off ahead of the series in Australia, which begins with a three-day tour match against Hobart from December 19. The first Test starts on Boxing Day at the MCG.
"I am very happy and am confident of making the most of this chance to resurrect my career," said Sami, who returned to Pakistan's domestic fold after cutting ties with the now defunct ICL.
Sami, 28, played the last of his 33, largely unfulfilling Tests in December 2007 against India after he had drifted to the sidelines of Pakistan's Test attack. Those three Tests in India yielded just four wickets and he was again discarded to return to the domestic circuit. But he has picked up 30 wickets so far this season while captaining Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Group B toppers Karachi Whites, with three five-wicket bags.
There are other fast bowlers with better returns for the current first-class season, such as young Mohammad Talha, and those who have played limited-overs cricket for Pakistan this year, like Sohail Khan, but Sami's experience of playing international cricket, and two Tests in Australia, appeared to have worked in his favour.
Sami has taken 81 wickets in 33 Tests, and 118 in 83 ODIs.
Apart from three Tests, Pakistan will play five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 on the tour.