LAHORE, Dec 11: Pakistan have called up Faisal Iqbal and Shahid Afridi as cover for captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf in their squad for the fourth One-day International against West Indies on Wednesday.
Inzamam has been advised to rest for three days after he required three stitches to a finger injured while fielding in the third one-dayer on Sunday while Yousuf's wife is ill.
Pakistan won by seven wickets to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the five-match series. The first match was abandoned.
Vice-captain Younis Khan also missed the match after attending the burial rites of his elder brother who died in Germany last week. Family members said he was unlikely to play in the fourth match as well.
“We have called up Afridi as Yousuf will not play the fourth match as his wife is very ill. Afridi has done well in domestic cricket this week and the selectors felt he was the natural choice,” a Pakistan Cricket Board spokesman said.
Yousuf also missed the second game in Faisalabad which Pakistan won by two wickets due to hi wife's illness.
Afridi who was dropped for the series after scoring just 114 runs in his last 17 games made a century and a half-century as well as taking four wickets in a first class match for his department at the weekend.
Inzamam told reporters doctors had advised him to rest the finger for three days.
“It is nothing serious but they have said I should only start practising after I feel comfortable. I am not certain if I will be able to play the fourth game in my hometown,” he said.
Squad: Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Imran Farhat, Mohammad Hafeez, Yasir Hameed, Faisal Iqbal, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Rao Iftikhar, Mohammad Sami, Danish Kaneria, Abdur Rehman.—Reuters
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