Pakistan Will Be A Challenging Outfit In England & WI
Pakistan has recalled pace bowlers - Mohammad Abbas and Naseem Shah - for the Test series against the West Indies.
Meanwhile, Azam Khan, the uncapped hard-hitting batsman from Quetta Gladiators, has been picked in the T20I set-up, for the series against England and the West Indies.
The T20I squad also includes veteran all-rounder Imad Wasim.
"We have remained consistent in our selection and kept the same core of cricketers who have been in the set-up for a while. This is an extremely important and critical tour for Pakistan, as we will be playing the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League ODIs against England as well as the T20Is against England and the West Indies as part of our preparations for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. The Jamaica Test will count towards the ICC World Test Championship," said Mohammad Wasim - the Pakistan chief selector, said,
"As such, keeping in view the above and in consultation with captain Babar Azam and head coach Misbah-ul-Haq, we have tried our best to maintain the winning combinations, but at the same time recalled four experienced players and rewarded uncapped Azam Khan for his domestic performance, while also giving him the required confidence for the future challenges," he added.
"Yasir Shah's inclusion is subject to clearing his fitness test. He was sidelined due to a knee injury after the second Test against South Africa earlier this year and was expected to reclaim complete fitness for the West Indies tour. It, however, has not been the case, but we remain hopeful that he will complete his rehabilitation before our departure," he added.
"The side since the home series against South Africa have maintained an upward movement, but still there are a few loose ends that we would like to close by the end of the England and West Indies tours, so that there is absolute clarity on our compositions for the post West Indies tour engagements. I strongly believe the changes will plug those gaps and will put us in a strong position in our endeavours to feature in the top three across all formats by the end of 2023." concluded Wasim.
Pakistan will play three ODIs and three T20Is in England from 8-20 July, before taking on West Indies in five T20Is that will be followed by two Tests.
ODIs: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali , Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali , Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Usman Qadir
T20Is: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan, Arshad Iqbal, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sharjeel Khan and Usman Qadir.
Tests: Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan, Abdullah Shafique, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imran Butt, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Yasir Shah (subject to fitness) and Zahid Mahmood.