Younis, Gul out of ODIs against Australia

Pakistan on Monday dropped seasoned batsman Younis Khan from a 16-man squad for a three one-day match series against Australia, starting in the UAE later this month. The matches will be played on Aug.28 in Sharjah, Aug.31 in Abu Dhabi and again in Sharjah on Sept.3. The teams will also play three Twenty20s, for which a team was announced last month. Khan, 34, had been a lean form during a five-match away one-day series against Sri Lanka last month, scoring only 10 runs in four innings. He has so far played 245 one-days for Pakistan, scoring 6,824 runs, but his last hundred came four years ago. Also out of the squad is ace paceman Umar Gul, who managed just four wickets in four matches against Sri Lanka. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief selector Iqbal Qasim said both Younis and Gul, a 28-year-old veteran of 111 one-day matches, have been rested. “If you look at the last series against Sri Lanka, both Younis and Gul were struggling with form so we have rested them for the two tough series ahead, the first against India in December and then against South Africa early next year,” Qasim told AFP. Qasim denied Younis’s career was over. “By no means (is it) over, he can stage a comeback after rest,” said Qasim. Wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal, already recalled for the Twenty20 series against Australia, also bagged a place in the one-day team. From:Gulftoday