Schedule revised for C146;Trophy

India will take on defending champions Australia at Karachi on September 13 in their first match under the revised...

India will take on defending champions Australia at Karachi on September 13 in their first match under the revised fixture for the Champions Trophy beginning on September 12.

The event will begin with hosts Pakistan facing off against the runners up West Indies in Lahore. India and Pakistan are placed together in Group A and will meet each other on September 20.

The new schedule was sent on Tuesday to all participating nations after the Pakistan Cricket Board and the International Cricket Council agreed to drop Rawalpindi as one of the three venues for the eight-nation tournament. Lahore and Karachi will host the semi-finals while the final will be staged in Lahore on September 28 with the reserve day on the 29, as per the changed schedule.

However, the schedule for the warm up matches was yet to be confirmed. Besides India and Pakistan, Group A has defending champions Australia and West Indies while Group B comprises South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and England.

Shoaib back in Pak squad

Meanwhile fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has been named in Pakistan8217;s 15-man squad for the event. 8220;Shoaib has been picked after doctors cleared his fitness,8221; PCB chief operating officer Shafqat Naghmi said on Tuesday.

Shoaib had been asked to pay a fine of Rs 70 lakh by July 14 to be considered for selection. 8220;We have decided not to link the payment of fine with his selection,8221; added Naghmi.

There were also reports that Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson had gone back to Australia after having differences with selectors.

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Squad: Nasir Jamshed, Salman Butt, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik captain, Khalid Latif, Misbah-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Bazid Khan, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar, Sohail Tanvir, Abdur Rauf.