Afridi returns to Pakistan one-day squad

Former captain Shahid Afridi Wednesday earned a recall to Pakistan's 16-man one-day squad to face Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates, two weeks after he rescinded his decision to retire. The 31-year-old came out of self-imposed retirement after Zaka Ashraf replaced Ijaz Butt as the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) last month. Afridi fell out with Butt after he was sacked as one-day captain in May this year. In protest Afridi announced he would not play until Butt was replaced. The row began after Pakistan's tour of the West Indies in May where Afridi became involved in a dispute with coach Waqar Younis. The coach left his post in September, citing health problems. When Afridi retired, the Butt-led PCB suspended his contract and revoked his No Objection Certificate (NOC) to play abroad. Afridi took the matter to court but then agreed to appear before a PCB disciplinary committee, which fined him $53,000. Afridi met Ashraf in Lahore on Wednesday, a meeting which paved the way for his return. Selector Mohammad Ilyas said Afridi was still a good player. "There was no doubt over his ability, Afridi is a good player and led Pakistan well in the World Cup 2011," said Ilyas of the former captain who guided Pakistan to the semi-final before the team lost to eventual champions India. Also staging a comeback is all-rounder Abdul Razzaq, dumped after the World Cup. But there is no place for paceman Wahab Riaz, who is part of the Test squad which will face Sri Lanka in the third Test starting in Sharjah from Thursday. The five-match one-day series follows Tests, the first of which will be played in Dubai on November 11. Squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema, Junaid Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Abdul Razzaq, Asad Shafiq.