ISLAMABAD — Beleaguered wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal was dropped from the Pakistan squad yesterday for two Twenty20 internationals against England in Dubai later this month.

Akmal came under severe criticism for his poor performance in recent Test series against Australia. Sarfraz Ahmed, who replaced Akmal for the third Test in Australia, but did not feature in either five one-day internationals or the T20 game, was named as Pakistan wicketkeeper yesterday.

Pakistan’s regular Twenty20 captain, Shahid Afridi, will miss the first game in Dubai after he was banned for two matches for ball tampering during the fifth one-day international against Australia.

Shoaib Malik, who led Pakistan in the only T20 game against Australia, was retained as captain for the short series against England to be played on February 19 and 20.

“If Afridi were not banned for two matches, he would have led the side,” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief operating officer Wasim Bari said.

Bari said Afridi will lead Pakistan in the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies in April/May.

Chief selector Iqbal Qasim resigned after Australia whitewashed Pakistan in both the Test (3-0) and one-day series (5-0), and PCB chairman Ijaz Butt finalised the T20 squad in consultation with other selectors.

“The chairman chaired the meeting, which was attended by [selectors] Mohammad Ilyas and Azhar Khan,” PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarwar said. The consent of two other selectors, Salim Jaffar and Farrukh Zaman, was taken via a teleconference.

Pakistan will also be without in-form fast bowler Mohammad Asif. He is barred from entering the UAE after he was deported from Dubai when a small quantity of opium was found in his wallet while he was traveling back to Pakistan in 2008 after playing in the first edition of the Indian Premier League.

Coach Intikhab Alam will not accompany the team, but Bari refrained from commenting on the future of the Pakistan team coach.

“It’s the unanimous decision of the PCB that Alam will not go with the team,” Bari said. “I cannot comment on the long-term future of the coach.”

Former Test batsman Ijaz Ahmed, who coached the U19 team to the World Cup final in New Zealand, was named as batting and fielding coach of the Twenty20 squad.

Ahmed will join the squad on February 18 as he will be with the Pakistan A team in the United Arab Emirates competing against England A.

All-rounder Abdul Razzaq, who missed the one-day series against Australia, has recovered from a hand injury.

Yawar Saeed, who quit as manager after the Champions Trophy, returns as manager of the team. Saeed had criticised Malik’s captaincy after Pakistan lost the one-day series to Sri Lanka early last year and was replaced by Younus Khan.

“We found him [Malik] to be a loner, aloof and involved in his own little world, which is okay, but not when the team required a fully committed captain,” the manager had written about Malik in his report.

Squad: Shoaib Malik (captain), Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat, Khalid Latif, Umar Akmal, Fawad Alam, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Sarfraz Ahmad, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Yasir Arafat, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Talha.