Afridi faces axe, Kaneria set to return before Windies series

Lahore, Nov 4 (UNI) Thanks to his woeful form with the bat and ball, all-rounder Shahid Afridi is all set to get the boot, while wily leggie Danish Kaneria can expect a recall for the upcoming home series against the West Indies.

Ahead of the series, which gets under way here on November 11, chief selector Wasim Bari told ''The News'' that Afridi's poor form is likely to go against him when the selectors meet here on Monday.

''We will sit down with an open mind on Monday to select the Pakistani squad and I believe some important decisions would be made,,'' Bari said.

''Afridi is going through a bad patch, both with the bat and ball. I don't remember the last time he got a good score and such a showing certainly goes against him,'' he admitted.

Afridi's poor form saw him being jettisoned from the Test squad midway during the tour of England and his irresponsible batting in the ICC Champions Trophy further weakened his case.

Kaneria, sulking after being ignored for the Champions Trophy, is almost certain to return as the main strike bowler, said Bari.

Admitting that the ban on dope-tainted pace duo of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif had depleted the Pakistani attack and though Umer Gul and Rana Naved-ul Hasan are capable of delivering the goods, Bari said Kaneria would remain the main strike bowler.

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