Pakistan may name ODI squad after April 1

KARACHI: Pakistan are likely to name their 15-man squad for the one-day series against Australia after the conclusion of the National One-day Championship on April 1.National coach Intikhab Alam told this correspondent on Monday that after mutual consent it has been more or less decided that the selectors will wait till the end of the one-day spectacle before naming the squad for the ODI series to be played in Dubai and Abu Dhabi from April 22-May 7. Pakistan will play five One-day Internationals and Twenty20 game against the world champions. Intikhab said that the team management will give its input on the line-up for the series after following the performance of the players in the ongoing domestic event.“It is better to wait for a few days and see how the players perform in the domestic tournament before naming the national team,” said Intikhab. Meanwhile, chief selector Abdul Qadir has said that he would meet Ijaz Butt, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, in Lahore on Tuesday (today) before taking a final decision in this regard.Qadir also said that pacer Shoaib Akhtar can make a return to Pakistan duty if he proves his fitness in the next few days. He said the selectors had been keeping an eye on Shoaib’s performance to decide whether he could be brought back into the team for the one-dayers against Australia. Qadir pointed out that Shoaib recently gave a good showing in a one-day game which he said was a good sign.