Shoaib Akhtar left out of Champions Trophy probables by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Player:	Mohammad Asif, Salman Butt, Shoaib Akhtar
Event:	ICC Champions Trophy 2009/10

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DateLine: 6th August 2009

 

Pakistan has left out Shoaib Akhtar from the 30-man preliminary squad for this year's Champions Trophy.

 

Salman Butt along with the rest of the squad for the Sri Lankan tour, has been named in Pakistan's 30-man probables for the Champions Trophy.

 

Mohammad Asif, was included as his one-year ban expires on September 22, the start of the Champions Trophy in South Africa. The ban was imposed after the 26-year-old failed a dope test in the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League last year. Asif will be eligible to play in Pakistan's opening match against the West Indies on September 23.

 

The biennial Champions Trophy will be held in South Africa from September 22 to October 5, having been moved out of Pakistan over security fears.

 

The top eight countries -- Australia, England, South Africa, India, Pakistan, the West Indies, Sri Lanka and New Zealand -- are due to take part in the Trophy, which was first held in 1998.

 

Pakistan's preliminary squads will be trimmed to 15 next month.

 

Champions Trophy probables : Younis Khan (Captain), Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Khalid Latif, Azhar Ali, Imran Nazir, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Amin, Umer Akmal, Sheharyar Ghani, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Rana Naveed, Yasir Arafat, Fawad Alam, Kamran Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed, Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamir, Abdul Rauf, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Talha, Sohail Tanvir, Rao Iftikhar, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Mohammad Hafeez.