Mohammad Hafeez to lead Pakistan A on UAE tour

Mohammad Hafeez, the allrounder with the experience of 11 Test and 48 one-day internationals, will lead Pakistan A on their tour of the UAE next month. The selectors have announced a 16-man squad for the limited-overs trip against the England Lions and the hosts from February 9-26.

The squad includes four players with international experience - Hafeez, Shahzaib Hasan, Mohammad Talha, and Abdur Rehman. Hafeez, 29, last represented Pakistan in October 2007. Shahzaid, an opener, played in Pakistan's victorious ICC World Twenty20 campaign in England last summer, rookie fast bowler Talha made his Test debut in Sri Lanka and the left-arm spinner Rehman has featured in one Test and 11 ODIs. Wahab Riaz, another aspiring fast bowler, was part of the Pakistan squad that toured the UAE for a limited-overs series against New Zealand last year.

The handing of the vice-captaincy to the in-form batsman Aamer Sajjad, who today hit an unbeaten double-century to take The Rest to an innings victory an innings victory over Karachi Blues in the domestic RBS Pentangular, indicates the nature in which the selectors view him. He is the tournament's leading run scorer with 1378 at 72.52 from 13 matches.

The two players following him on that list, Naved Yasin and Asad Shafiq, both with over 1,000 runs, have also been included. Tanvir Ahmed, with 95 wickets in the Pentangular, has found a place too. Rehman is fourth on the list of leading wicket-takers with 78.

Pakistan A squad: Mohammad Hafeez (capt), Shahzaib Hasan, Kashif Siddiq, Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Umair Khan, Aamer Sajjad, Naved Yasin, Yasir Shah, Tanvir Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Tabish Khan, Uzair-ul-Haq, Mohammad Talha, Naeem Anjum, Abdur Rehman.