The first Test between England and Pakistan of the three-match series will begin on August 5 at the Old Trafford ground in Manchester and the visiting team has announced their 16-man squad for the opening encounter.
Azhar Ali will lead a side comprising of batting stars like Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Shan Masood, Imam-Ul-Haq, Abid Ali, and himself. Muhammad Rizwan and Sarfaraz Ahmed were named in the squad as well as wicketkeeping options, while Kashif Bhatti, Shadab Khan, and Yasir Shah were the spinning options.
ENG v PAK 2020: Wasim Akram wants Pakistan to learn from West Indies' mistakes in England
Fawad Alam has also been named by the team management and will be looking to add to his 3 Test matches, the last of which came in 2009.
Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Sohail Khan, and Mohammad Abbas are the fast bowling options Azhar Ali has in the team for the first Test match. Pakistan is 1-1 in the last two Tests the two teams played in 2018.
Misbah-Ul-Haq, the head coach and chief selector of Pakistan showed faith in the team’s batting talents.
“Shan Masood, Abid Ali scored centuries in the previous series (at home to Bangladesh in February and at home to Sri Lanka in December). Azhar (Ali) got a hundred (too, against Sri Lanka). In 2016 Asad Shafiq scored runs here, Babar Azam last time performed here in 2018 (when Pakistan drew a two-match series in England 1-1) and the way he's batting at the moment, he's confident and playing well,” he said.
Meanwhile, Azhar Ali, the skipper called himself lucky to have such brilliant young fast bowlers in Afridi and Naseem.
“The way Naseem and Shaheen have bowled in recent series, I as captain feel very lucky to have them in my squad. I think our bowlers will get a lot of advantages. Yasir Shah is there as well who has ample experience. He is a leg-spinner and his guidance for young players is also very important," Azhar said during a PCB podcast as per Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan's squad for the first England Test:
Azhar Ali (C), Babar Azam (VC), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Imam-Ul-Haq, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Muhammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan and Yasir Shah
