Yousuf ignored; Pak name WC squad sans captain

Senior batsman Muhammad Yousuf was omitted from Pakistan's final 15-member squad for the World Cup, to be held in the subcontinent from February 19.

Yousuf, a veteran of 90 Tests and 288 one-day internationals, was named in the preliminary squad of 30 players. However, the selectors showed faith in young Asad Shafiq instead of the experienced batsmahn, who is captaining the Lahore [ Images ] team in the ongoing national one-day championship in a bid to convince the selectors he was fit and in form for the ICC's [ Images ] showpiece event.

- India's World Cup squad

All the players presently touring New Zealand [ Images ] for the one-day series were named in the squad.

But the decision to not name a captain for the squad, although Shahid Afridi [ Images ] has led the team in T20 and ODIs since last year and is presently captain for the series in New Zealand, indicates that Test captain Misbah-ul Haq is a strong choice to also lead the one-day squad.

Pakistan squad: Muhammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Younis Khan [ Images ], Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal [ Images ], Asad Shafiq, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq [ Images ], Abdul Rehman, Saeed Ajmal [ Images ], Shoaib Akhtar [ Images ], Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir [ Images ].