Pakistan recall Inzamam

Inzamam wants to bounce back

Pakistan selectors have recalled batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq to their squad for this month's Test series against Bangladesh.

Inzamam had been a prolific batsman but his form suffered terribly during the World Cup and he has not played since.

But now the 33-year-old has a chance to prove himself once more and has been included in a squad of 20 "probables" for the three-Test series.

Chief selector Aamer Sohail said: "We had never dropped Inzi after the World Cup.

Hopefully I will get over the World Cup nightmare in the coming series Inzamam-ul-Haq

"We were just giving him a break from the game so that he could get over his fatigue and come back stronger.

"He should bring stability to the Pakistan middle order given his experience and class."

Inzamam has scored 6,214 runs in 85 Tests and 8,957 runs in 290 one-day internationals.

But at the World Cup, he managed just 19 runs in six innings.

Inzamam said: "It is a big relief to be back in the Pakistan squad.

"Hopefully I will get over the World Cup nightmare in the coming series."

The burly right-hander said he was hoping to continue playing for Pakistan for at least another two to three years.

"I don't think 10,000 runs in Tests and one-day internationals is an impossible task," he added.

Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar will also be available after being released by his county Durham on a special request from the Pakistan cricket board.

Off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq was not considered for the series at his own request, although his English county Surrey had agreed to release him, Sohail said.

The squad will go into a training camp in Lahore from 9-16 August, before the start of the first of the three Tests on 20 August in Karachi.

Squad: Muhammad Hafeez, Taufiq Umar, Yasir Hameed, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousaf Youhana, Misbahul Haq, Farhan Adil, Hasan Reza, Rashid Latif (captain), Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq, Umer Gul, Shoaib Akhtar, Shabbir Ahmed, Muhammad Khalil, Najaf Shah, Danish Kaneria, Abdul Sattar, Kamran Akmal, Jaffer Nazir.