Umar Amin new face in Pakistan's 15-man squad

Nineteen-year-old batsman Umar Amin has been rewarded for his impact on the domestic season with a call-up to Pakistan's 15-man squad for the first ODI against Sri Lanka on January 21 in Karachi. The team, the first picked by a new-look selection committee headed by Abdul Qadir, has gone back to traditional Pakistani strength, pace, but is not entirely without surprise.

Amin was the second-highest run-getter in last month's RBS Pentangular One-Day Cup, scoring 254 runs at an average of 84.66 and strike-rate of 89.12. A sound left-hand top-order batsman, he has impressed on several Under-19 tours and was also part of Pakistan's Under-19 squad at last year's World Cup in Malaysia.

"He is a real prospect and the coach and captain were both keen to have him in the squad, to encourage him and groom him further,"

Salim Jaffer, one of the selectors, told Cricinfo.

"He has impressed a number of people this season."

But pace it is that dominates Pakistan's thinking ahead of the three-match series. Sohail Khan returns having missed the Abu Dhabi series against West Indies in November as does the skiddy, all-round option of Yasir Arafat. Ahead of both are the first-choicers, Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul and Iftikhar Anjum, thus giving Pakistan six options. The wickets, it is a given, will be quicker and bouncier than have been seen in recent times.

"The selection committee spoke to the coach Intikhab Alam about the plan for the series and we have picked a squad according to that,"

Jaffer said.

"Our strength is pace and we believe our options there are stronger than Sri Lanka's so we have gone for that."

But there are some surprises in this squad, prime among them the exclusion Nasir Jamshed. Arguably Pakistan's find of a lean year in 2008, Jamshed has been overlooked despite being in the runs domestically. Jamshed missed the Abu Dhabi matches after pulling out at the last minute with an illness and was replaced by Khurram Manzoor.

A fair rather than spectacular return in those three ODIs has meant Manzoor retains his place over Jamshed, though it is learnt the spot was the focus of considerable debate and disagreement between the committee. One selector was in favour, but was ultimately ruled over by the other two.

There was also some friction over the dropping of Fawad Alam, the allrounder, who has become a regular squad fixture over the last year. As much as a lack of impact, it is thought Pakistan's preference for pace in this contest went against him.

The only spinner in the squad is offspinner Saeed Ajmal, which means there's no place yet for legspinner Danish Kaneria, who was hopeful of a one-day call-up with the change in the PCB management. Kaneria was surprisingly promoted to the top grade of central contracts and noises coming from the new management had suggested he may get a look-in under these selectors, having long been outside of Pakistan's ODI thinking. But a poor showing in the Pentangular one-dayers seems to have gone against him for the moment.

Sri Lanka's visit will be the first test for Shoaib Malik after he was given an indefinite extension as the team's captain earlier this month.

Pakistan squad : Shoaib Malik (capt), Misbah-ul-Haq, Salman Butt, Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal (wk) , Sohail Tanvir, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Iftikhar Anjum, Saeed Ajmal, Khurram Manzoor, Sohail Khan, Yasir Arafat, Umar Amin.

Sri Lanka ODI squad announced for Pakistan

Sri Lanka's cricket selectors Friday recalled in-form Tillakaratne Dilshan for an upcoming three-match One-day International series in Pakistan.

The middle-order batsman, who played his last one-dayer at home against India in August 2008, has so far scored 2,994 runs in 152 matches with one hundred and 14 half-centuries.

Dilshan was in impressive form during his team's 2-0 Test series victory in Bangladesh recently, scoring 162 and 143 in the final Test in Chittagong to become only the fourth Sri Lankan to hammer two centuries in the match.

However, he was not named immediately in the squad for a triangular one-day series starting in Bangladesh Saturday. Zimbabwe are the third side.

Fast bowler Dammika Prasad, part of the Test team in Bangladesh, was not included in the 15-man squad for Pakistan to be led by middle-order batsman Mahela Jayawardene.

Veteran opener Sanath Jayasuriya retained his place in the one-day squad which had two young players in former under-19 captain Angelo Matthews and Thilina Kandamby.

Sri Lanka agreed to tour Pakistan after India cancelled the January-February series due to simmering political tensions between the two countries over the Mumbai attacks.

The three one-dayers will be played in Karachi (January 21), Lahore (January 24) and Faisalabad (January 27).

Sri Lanka will then return to Pakistan in mid-February for two Tests, in Karachi and Lahore.

Sri Lanka one-day squad: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Upul Tharanga, Chamara Kapugedera, Jehan Mubarak, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thilina Kandamby, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Farveez Maharoof, Dilhara Fernando, Nuwan Kulasekera, Thilina Thushara, Angelo Matthews.

Shoaib and Kaneria earn top contracts

In a fitting indication of the extremes within which Pakistan cricket operates, Shoaib Akhtar has been awarded a central contract for 2009 and been placed in the top of three categories. This time last year, Shoaib had been demoted to a special retainership category for players whose form and fitness were in doubt. He refused to take it and instead responded angrily, sparking a sequence which eventually saw him being banned and fined by the board.

Shoaib played just three Twenty20s in a four-nation tournament in Canada and missed all of Pakistan's other commitments through injury or the ban. But under another new administration and team management he has been reinstated to the premier rank of Pakistan's players.

Mohammad Asif, as expected, finds himself out of the picture altogether, with no place in any of the categories. He is currently suspended by the PCB after testing positive for steroids during the IPL last year. It was another controversial year for Asif who was also held at Dubai Airport on suspicion of possessing a recreational drug, before being released after 19 days with the charges dropped. His fall has been as swift as Shoaib's rise: at the beginning of last year, he had been promoted to the top category.

The contracts were awarded after inputs from Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam, Abdul Qadir, chief selector and Yawar Saeed, the team manager. The other winner in the new contracts - and another example of the vague criteria applied by the administration - is Danish Kaneria. Last year, Kaneria was demoted to category C, a decision which prompted considerable criticism at the time. Yet, without playing a single match for Pakistan in 2008, Kaneria finds himself in category A this year.

Salman Butt and Umar Gul also move up after impressive years. But Sohail Tanvir, Pakistan's best ODI bowler in 2008, will rightly ask why he is in the same group as Yasir Hameed, Faisal Iqbal and Mohammad Hafeez, none of whom played for Pakistan last year.

Seniority, said the PCB, played a significant role this time. Last year, a mix of seniority, performance, fitness and discipline had been factored in while awarding the contracts.

"The central contracts were devised by coach Intikhab Alam, manager Yawar Saeed and chief selector Abdul Qadir and the main criteria was seniority of the players,"

Salim Altaf, chief operating officer PCB, told reporters.

Salaries for each category remain the same, a boost given speculation in recent weeks that the board would cut down salaries in the face of a severe financial crunch. That means category A players receive Rs 250,000 per month, category B Rs 175,000 and category C, Rs 100,000.

The retainership category has been removed this time and no winning bonuses will be on offer as they were last year but match fees for Tests have been increased from Rs 250,000 per match to Rs 350,000.

Category A Shoaib Akhtar, Younis Khan, Danish Kaneria, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, Salman Butt, Umar Gul

Category B Yasir Hameed, Faisal Iqbal, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohail Tanvir

Category C Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Abdur Rehman, Yasir Arafat, Fawad Alam, Khurram Manzoor, Saeed Ajmal, Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz, Samiullah Khan Niazi, Sarfraz Ahmad, Nasir Jamshed, Umar Amin, Azhar Ali