Both Abrar and Muhammad Ali have been rewarded with outstanding performances in the domestic circuit.
Pakistan’s Chief Selector, Muhammad Wasim, said, “The usual factors have been considered in putting together this team for this series which is the opposition, our own strength and the conditions we are going to play in. are, involves assessing the Media in Lahore “The current form of our players in the ongoing first-class season has also been given a lot of importance in selecting the players. The players who have been selected have come up through the ranks after years of performance.
“Our focus is on the current form of the player and for this series, we would like to give a chance to a new player who is traveling with the team and making runs in the domestic circuit. Obviously when your senior pro Bad form and that [Fawad Alam] Not scoring runs, we decided to give our new, young guys a chance. Our basic idea is to value domestic performance and find out if there is a space available to occupy. If there is a fixed number for the player making the run, you cannot finish it and so the home players have to wait. This is a simple law or method of cricket selection. You can’t upset established players just for the sake of testing new players.”
It has been learned that in the absence of Afridi, along with Naseem, white-ball fast bowler Rauf is also likely. “At the moment we don’t have a lot of fast bowling options in red ball cricket,” Wasim said. “But there is an injury problem and there is space for someone else. Harris is one of the fast bowlers who have been with the team and we have identified that he can be lethal in Test cricket as well.” The kind of conditions we have in mind, it can work with the new ball as well as the old ball.”
Apart from three all-rounders and one fast bowler in Ashraf, Pakistan picked four options for spin – Zahid Mahmood, Abrar, Nouman Ali and Mohammad Nawaz.
“Zahid is another bowler who is in the planning,” Wasim said. “He has shown improvement over the years and has been a part of consistent squads. We have enhanced our fast bowling stock with the best available talent. There is no doubt about Muhammad Wasim Jr.’s abilities. They move the new and old ball laterally. At pace which is a huge plus for any team. Muhammad Ali has shown great patience and control and his numbers speak volumes for his consistency. He is our best in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy with 56 wickets Has been a fast bowler. Averaged 24 over the past two seasons.
“Obviously England are the top team in all formats and they have changed their style of cricket,” Wasim said. “They play attacking cricket in Test cricket as well, but obviously we have the advantage of our home conditions, we have our strategy but at the same time to say that England will be a soft opponent in our conditions, we don’t want to think like that. But with the kind of cricket we are playing, we feel the results will go in our favour. I am sure this team will ensure that the upcoming Test series against England ends the way it did. Last visited Pakistan in 2005. [2-0]”
Test squad Babar Azam (captain), Muhammad Rizwan, Imamul Haq, Abdullah Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Abrar Ahmed, Muhammad Ali, Shan Masood, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Muhammad Nawaz, Nouman Ali, Saud Shakeel, Zahid Mahmood, Muhammad Wasim Jr., Naseem Shah, Agha Salman, Sarfaraz Ahmad
