Pacer Shoaib Akhtar will finally make it to the Pakistan ODI team after more than a year in oblivion as the PCB included him in a 15-member team named to play the first ODI against Sri Lanka in Karachi. Shoaib's last tryst with the national team was during the Twenty20 World Cup where he was sent back home and subsequently banned for five years after a fight with team-mates.

Pakistan have dropped all-rounder Shahid Afridi and pace bowler Sohail Tanvir and called up three uncapped players ahead of the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka that begins in Karachi later this week (February 21st). There is also a recall for Asim Kamal, who last played a Test match in 2005.

Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene refused to single out spin sensation Ajantha Mendis as the major threat for Pakistan in the One-Day series. The 23-year-old Mendis and his more illustrious partner Muttiah Muralitharan are tipped to hold the aces against the home team in the three-match series which starts here from on Tuesday. But Jayawardene said Mendis doesn't carry extra burden of expectations.

Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf and all-rounder Abdul Razzaq could be in line for returns to international cricket after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) lifted a ban on both players after they resigned from the Indian Cricket League.