The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced the national squad for the upcoming three-match Test series against England, which will be England’s since 2005. The series will begin on December 1 in Rawalpindi, the second Test will be played in Multan from December 9 and the final Test in Karachi on December 17.
In a big shock to Pakistan, Shaheen Afridi is expected to be out of action till April and hence has not been included in the side. He also underwent surgery for appendicitis as well. This means he will need three-four weeks' rest following which he will resume his two-week rehabilitation on his right knee.
In his place, pacer Haris Rauf has received his maiden Test call-up after playing 15 ODIs and 57 T20Is for Pakistan. Also receiving their maiden Pakistan call-ups are 24-year-old leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed from Sindh and fast bowler Mohammad Ali.
The selectors also dropped Fawad Alam, Yasir Shah, and Hasan Ali, who had been part of the Sri Lanka tour in July earlier this year.
"Fawad managed 33 runs in four innings of three Tests against Australia earlier this year, while he scored 25 runs in his only Test in Sri Lanka. Hasan Ali took five wickets in his last four Tests against Australia and Sri Lanka, while Yasir Shah bagged nine wickets in Sri Lanka but has managed only 14 wickets in seven Quaid-e-Azam Trophy matches to date," stated PCB in an official media release.
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All three Tests will be part of the current ICC World Test Championship 2023. These three Tests will be England's final appearance in the second edition of the World Test Championship.
Pakistan Test squad for England series:
Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Ali, Shan Masood, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Nawaz, Nauman Ali, Saud Shakeel, Zahid Mahmood, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed
(PCB/ESPNCricinfo inputs)
