Opener Jamshed to miss series in Abu Dhabi

Karachi: Young opener Khurrum Manzoor replaced Nasir Jamshed in the Pakistan squad that left on Sunday for Abu Dhabi to play three one-day international matches against the West Indies.

Jamshed declared himself unfit for the tour hours before the team's departure as he had a high fever, having recently suffered a bout of malaria.

"It is a good sign that Jamshed himself informed us he is not well and not 100 per cent fit for the series," Pakistan skipper, Shoaib Malek told reporters before the team's departure.

"We are happy he has been honest with us as he had passed a fitness test yesterday and we thought he could play."

Left-hander Jamshed has impressed since making his debut this year.

Manzoor played in a one-day international match against Zimbabwe earlier this year.

Prediction

Malek predicted a close series against the West Indians.

"West Indies have just won the $20 million Stanford challenge match against England and they have some exciting young players, but my team is keen to play and do well as they haven't had much opportunity this year for international cricket," Malek said.

Malek said the return of fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar would be a big boost for the team

"He has been working very hard on his fitness," he said.

Pakistan will be without senior batsman Mohammad Yousuf who has joined the unofficial Indian Cricket League, but Malek said his absence should not be a problem.

"We have a good one-day squad and players capable of making up for Yousuf no longer being there in the team," he said.

Squad

Pakistan squad: Shoaib Malek (captain), Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Salman Butt, Khalid Latif, Khurrum Manzoor, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Fouad Alam, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar, Sohail Tanvir, Abdur Rauof, Saeed Ajmal

Pakistan will be without senior batsman Mohammad Yousuf, but Malek said his absence should not be a problem.