Razzaq, Kamran axed for West Indies ODIs and T20s

Abdul Razzaq and Kamran Akmal have been axed from Pakistan's combined ODI and Twenty20 squad for the upcoming tour of West Indies, while senior players Umar Gul and Younis Khan have been rested. Shahid Afridi remains in charge of the team that will feature a new wicketkeeper, Mohammad Salman. The Test squad will be named at a later date.

Kamran's wicketkeeping has been unreliable for long, most recently in Pakistan's World Cup game against New Zealand where he dropped centurion Ross Taylor three times, including twice within the first four runs he scored. Team coach Waqar Younis had hinted that it was time for a new wicketkeeper to be blooded, and Salman got the nod. With 103 first-class games to his name, the Karachi-born Salman, 29, has been on the fringes of selection for a while. In recent times, he had been overlooked in favour of Sarfraz Ahmed, Zulqarnain Haider and Adnan Akmal.

Razzaq had a quiet World Cup, when he did not complete his quota of 10 overs even once, and managed a single half-century. He was often given the new ball, but taken off after short opening spells to make way for Gul and the spinners. His batting was also wasted since he mostly came out to bat at No. 8. After the first couple of games, he had expressed a desire to play a larger part in Pakistan's World Cup campaign, but continued to play a peripheral role.

Left-hand opening batsman Taufeeq Umar, who recently worked his way back into the Test side, is another surprise inclusion for the shorter formats. Aizaz Cheema, the 31-year-old seamer who plays for Punjab, also received an unexpected call-up to replace Gul. Cheema has 221 wickets from 62 first-class matches, and will tussle for the new ball with Wahab Riaz, Tanvir Ahmed and Junaid Khan. Usman Salahuddin and Hammad Azam, youngsters who made an impression at the Under-19 level, also got the selector's nod for the tour.

The tour kicks off with a warm-up game from April 18, while the only Twenty20 will be played on April 21 in St Lucia. The five-match ODI series will begin on April 23, and the Test leg of the tour will commence on May 12.

Squad: Shahid Afridi (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Taufeeq Umar, Usman Salahuddin, Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Tanvir Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Hammad Azam, Aizaz Cheema and Mohammad Salman (wk)

Reserves: Rameez Raja (jnr), Sadaf Hussain, Asif Zakir, Sohail Khan, Zulifqar Babar