Pakistan head coach and national chief selector Misbah ul Haq on Friday (June 12) revealed that the veteran pacer Wahab Riaz has made himself available for Test selection.
According to the media reports, Misbah had a telephonic conversation with Riaz, who has been on the indefinite break from red-ball cricket since last year to focus on the white-ball game. The pacer has played 27 Tests, while he was last seen in whites against Australia in October 2018.
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The left-arm fast bowler has conveyed to the head coach that he is available for Test selection if his services are required to Pakistan in the upcoming Test series against England. He was also named in the 29-member squad announced for the full England tour, starting next month.
Misbah told PTI on Friday: “Yes I spoke to Wahab about this and he said if needed, he will be available to play the Test matches in England.”
Meanwhile, the chief selector also spoke about the selection of former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed. He further added, “Sarfaraz is the second-best wicket-keeper after Muhammad Rizwan. He is selected as back up for England tour on the basis of his performance.”
Misbah has also explained the reason behind including 10 pace bowlers and four spinners in the extended squad for England, citing the bowlers would require the most time to adjust to the new playing conditions because of the COVID-19 protocols.
The coach stated, “Hopefully the five weeks training camp and practice games we have in England before the first test will allow all the bowlers to settle down and also get used to new SOPs like not using saliva to shine the ball, avoiding celebrations after taking a wicket, etc.”
Misbah signed off by saying, “It is not easy for a pace bowler, in particular, to get back into rhythm after three months of not playing cricket or nets at all.”
(With PTI Inputs)
