Younis opts out of remaining ODIs

Younis Khan has pulled out of Pakistan's squad for the remaining three one-day internationals against Bangladesh, citing the need for rest. Younis asked the selectors to be omitted from the squad, a wish the committee granted.

"He asked us for rest and we agreed,"

Salahuddin Ahmed, chief selector, told Cricinfo.

"It gives us a chance to give some other players a go as well, guys like Bazid Khan and Fawad Alam in the batting."

Younis has seemed out of sorts in the first two matches, scoring 1 and 13. Before the first ODI in Lahore he had threatened to pull out of the match, apparently disturbed by an interview with officers from the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) about a function he attended on the tour to India in 2007. There is bound to be speculation that the pull-out is related to that, though Salahuddin denied it, saying only that Younis had cited 'personal reasons.'

No other changes have been made to the squad ahead of the third ODI against, with Pakistan sticking to a reduced 15-man squad. If Pakistan wrap up the series on Sunday in Lahore, it is likely new faces will be inducted into the squad for the remaining games.

Squad: Shoaib Malik (capt), Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal (wk), Shahid Afridi, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Bazid Khan, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, Fawad Alam