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Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Kamran set for return to Pakistan team

12:45 PM  Unknown  

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's troubled wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal could finally make a comeback to the national ODI and Twenty20 team later this month in a home series against Bangladesh. Sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) were quoted as saying on Monday that Kamran, who has been out of favour since the 2011 World Cup, was only allowed to train with the Pakistan team at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore last week after the board gave clearance. “PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf has finally cleared Kamran to be considered for national selection. That is why he is now training with the Pakistani players at the NCA,” a source said. The 30-year-old – who has played 53 Tests, 137 one-day internationals and 38 Twenty20 internationals - has not been cleared by the board to be considered for selection to the national team since after the World Cup.

While he was dropped after the World Cup because of poor form, the PCB also had suspicions about his integrity after the spot-fixing scandal saw three Pakistan players – Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir – first banned and then jailed for their role in it. “Kamran has now also been cleared on the integrity form, and given that he has regularly been playing domestic cricket and performing pretty consistently, he is now in line to be considered for the one ODI and one Twenty20 against Bangladesh later this month in Lahore,” the source confirmed. The source said the move to get Kamran cleared and bring him back to the Pakistan team had begun when Pakistan were playing the one-day series against England in the UAE. “Even former coach Mohsin Khan, in a meeting with the PCB chairman and captain Misbahul Haq, had pleaded that the national team could still make a lot of use of the experience and skills of Kamran,” the source said. Kamran recently also played in the Bangladesh Premier League and performed well for the Sylhet team. He also captained the team in the last few matches.

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