Pakistan cricket officials say they were unable to contact former captain Younus Khan before omitting him from the three-Test tour to Australia. Younus' absence is a significant blow for the tourists, who start their series at the MCG on Boxing Day, given his pedigree as a batsman and good form as an overseas player with South Australia last summer.
In an episode that maintains the ramshackle legend of Pakistani cricket, officials were unable to ask Younus about his intentions for Australia following his withdrawal from the current tour of New Zealand, where the side has been led by Mohammed Yousuf.
Younus had been appointed captain until the 2011 World Cup, but pulled out of the New Zealand tour in order to rest and has since been out of contact. He did not play in any domestic match, a prerequisite for selection.
Chief selector Iqbal Qasim said Younus did not inform them of his availability. "Younus did not play domestic matches, nor did he make himself available for selection so we did not consider him," Qasim told AFP.
Pakistan Cricket Board officials said they tried their best to contact the former captain, but without success. Younus, 32, decided to take a break from the game after Pakistan's 2-1 one-day series loss to New Zealand in Abu Dhabi last month, also saying that "he had lost control over his team-mates".
Yousuf will lead a 16-man Pakistan squad for the three Tests in Melbourne, Sydney and Hobart and the five-match one-day series that follows. Shahid Afridi, not in that squad, will lead the team in the one Twenty20 fixture to be played after the one-day matches.
Qasim said an extra player was included for the Tests and one-dayers because the Australia tour was expected to be a tough assignment. "We normally have 15 players on a tour, but since Australia is a difficult tour we have kept one extra player," said Qasim.
Pakistan were blanked 3-0 on their past two visits to Australia in 1999 and 2004, last winning a Test at Sydney during a 2-1 series defeat in 1995.Qasim said his selected team had the potential to upset Australia.
"This squad has two quality spinners, good batsmen and a strong fast bowling line-up which, if they play to their potential, can upset Australia," said Qasim. Meanwhile, Pakistan team officials were forced to deny allegations of a dressing room fracas between Mohammad Aamer and Umar Gul after the visitors beat New Zealand in the second Test in Wellington.
Media on the subcontinent reported the pair came to blows at the Basin Reserve, soon after Pakistan levelled the three-match series on Sunday with a 141-run victory. Aamer and Gul did have a disagreement over their respective fielding positions during New Zealand's unsuccessful run chase, which required intervention from captain Yousuf.
A source close to the team had confirmed the dressing room incident and both players were fined 200,000 rupees ($A2,600) following a disciplinary hearing, according to the Times of India. Pakistan team manager Abdul Raqeeb denied the pair had an altercation in the dressing room. "Nothing happened, to be very honest," he said.
"Otherwise there would be a fine or some action would be taken by the management committee." Pakistan Test and one-day tour squad for Australia: Mohammad Yousuf (capt), Salman Butt, Khurrum Manzoor, Imran Farhat, Shoaib Malik, Fawad Alam, Faisal Iqbal, Misbah-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal (wk), Danish Kaneria, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer, Abdur Rauf, Umer Akmal.
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