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Barely 24 hours after Allan Donald announced his retirement from Test cricket, the end of an illustrious career of another great name of the game was signalled when Pakistan selectors dropped Wasim Akram from the Asian Test Championship final against Sri Lanka.

The match will be played at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium between March 6 and 10.

In an another surprise decision, the selectors overlooked wrist spinner Danish Kaneria but named two finger spinners in Shoaib Malik and Saqlain Mushtaq.

Danish has 32 wickets in seven Tests. But in the last two Tests, he picked up three wickets while his 25 wickets have come in three Tests against Bangladesh.

"Shahid Afridi is a utility wrist spinner and can be used," a PCB spokesman said. Interestingly, that theory was not followed until Afridi was picked for the second Test against the West Indies (after missing eight matches) in which he scored a century and picked up a few wickets.

Wasim's exclusion is the third biggest cricket news this month. Earlier, Steve Waugh was sacked as Australia's one-day captain and on Monday Donald decided to hang in boots after hobbling off the ground in the first Test between Australia and South Africa.

Wasim, who had made himself available for the match, was not in the country to hear the news of his dropping. But when the news gets to him, he would only blame his lack of form and fitness that has deserted him in the last couple of years.

Wasim, the 36-year-old veteran has 414 Tests and 447 one- day wickets, missed the final Test against England in 2000 because of hamstring injury and then skipped the three-Test series against New Zealand two months later.

He made a lacklustre comeback against England in England and then went wicketless in the Asian Test Championship match against Bangladesh at Multan. He made it for the tour to Bangladesh earlier this year but his trip was restricted to just 20 balls before he limped off with a hamstring injury.

In the last six Tests, Wasim has captured just seven wickets which confirms the fact that the Sultan of Reverse Swing has surely past his brilliant best.

It has been an amazing turn-around for Wasim who captured successive hat tricks against Sri Lanka - at Lahore and Dhaka - when the two teams clashed in the inaugural championship in 1999.

The selectors retained Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami and also named Mohammad Zahid whose comeback to international cricket was derailed with the sad demise of his father. He had to return from Sharjah after joining the team a day later owing to delay in completion of his travel formalities.

However, Pakistan captain Waqar Younis disagreed that the world had seen Wasim for the last time in Tests.

"He is a great cricketer and still has (Test) cricket left in him. He has not been picked solely because he lacks fitness.

"It's a one-off Test against Sri Lanka but I am sure if Wasim regains complete fitness and form, he would be back for the series against New Zealand," Waqar said.

Waqar hoped that the forthcoming domestic one-day matches would help Wasim regain the lost magical touch.

Waqar further said the management has not decided to play Wasim in selected matches. "If he is fit, he will play in Tests and one-dayers."

However, the chairman of the PCB Lt Gen Tauqir Zia said Wasim was being saved for next year's World Cup starting Feb 9. Pakistan play opener against Australia at Johannesburg on Feb 11.

"We are saving him for the World Cup. A lot of cricket has to be played upto the World Cup but we will include him in crunch and selective matches," he said.

The PCB chairman added that Wasim's Test career was far from over.

The chairman of selectors, Wasim Bari was unavailable for comments.

Squad:

Taufiq Umer, Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq (vice captain), Yousuf Youhana, Abdur Razzaq, Rashid Latif (wicketkeeper), Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Zahid and Faisal Iqbal.

Meanwhile Australian Daryl Harper has been appointed ICC umpire for the Asian Test Championship final between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Zimbabwe's Justice Ahmad Ebrahim has been named match referee.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will appoint the second umpire as well as the television umpire.

© Dawn