KARACHI // Pakistan have axed senior batsman Younis Khan for next month's one-day series against Australia in the UAE as they announced their ODI and Twenty20 squads on Wednesday.
After a one-off Twenty20 match on October 5, Pakistan will play Australia in three one-dayers the following week before the first Test starts on October 22 at Dubai.
Younis, 36, was recalled to the side for the August ODI series in Sri Lanka and played in the first game before returning home because of the death of his nephew.
Younis, who has played 254 ODIs, had previously been sidelined by the selectors since March 2013.
“Younis has been dropped as part of a strategy to look forward to the future, but the doors are not closed on him,” chief selector Moin Khan said. “There is little time left before the World Cup so the selectors have decided to try out and give more exposure to the new and younger players.”
Australia and New Zealand will host the World Cup from February 14-March 29 next year.
Younis, despite an impressive batting average of 51 in 91 Tests, has not been as effective in ODIs, scoring 7,017 runs at an average of 31. On Wednesday at Karachi he said that he had not given up hope of playing at the World Cup.
“I will do my best to force my way back into the ODI side,” he said. “I have no plans to retire from this format as yet.”
Umar Gul was left out of the ODI and T20 squads and left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar was dropped.
Khan said the main thrust was on the World Cup “which is why we have focused on youngsters such as Saad Nasim”, a leg spinner-batsman, who is the only uncapped player in the squads.
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