Asif recalled for Sri Lanka series

Pakistani pace bowler Mohammad Asif has been recalled to the squad for this month's one-day series against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi.

Asif, who missed the World Cup due to an elbow injury, was included in a 16-man squad for the series to be played from May 18-22.

Asif and fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar tested positive for nandrolone last October but a Pakistan Cricket Board appeals panel cleared them of doping a offence and overturned their bans.

The squad also includes uncapped players Fawad Alam and Najaf Shah.

"It is the best possible side we could pick after the World Cup with Inzamam retired and Younis Khan also not available due to his county commitments," chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed said.

The Sri Lanka series will be Shoaib Malik's first as captain after he replaced senior batsman, Inzamam-ul-Haq, who stepped down as skipper and retired from one-day internationals during the World Cup.

Pakistan, under Inzamam, were eliminated in the first round of the World Cup after losing to hosts West Indies and Ireland.

Pakistan squad: Shoaib Malik (captain), Imran Nazir, Salman Butt, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Yousuf, Yasir Hameed, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Fawad Alam, Abdul Rehman, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar, Mohammad Sami, Najaf Shah.