The Pakistan Cricket Board, on Monday, named a 20-man shortlist of players who will be considered for their three-match Test series against England, with batsman Fawad Alam on the verge of returning after 11 years.
The selection committee, headed by Misbah-ul-Haq, decided to leave the likes of Ifthikar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Fakhar Zaman and uncapped Haider Ali, while two specialist spinners in Kashif Bhatti and Yasir Shah have been called into action followed by two all-rounders in Faheem Ashraf and Shadab Khan.
"Meanwhile, the remaining nine players - Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain and Musa Khan - will continue to train with the squad for the T20I series, which will be played at the backend of the Test series," PCB stated in a release.
Pakistan shortlist 20-player squad for England Tests:
— PCB Media (@TheRealPCBMedia) July 27, 2020
Azhar A (c), Babar A, Abid A, Asad S, Faheem A, Fawad A, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan Sr, Kashif B, M Abbas, M Rizwan (wk), Naseem S, Sarfaraz A (wk), Shadab K, Shaheen A, Shan M, Sohail K, Usman S, Wahab R and Yasir S#ENGvPAK
The list has been finalised from an initial 29-member squad which travelled to England in different batches due to the pandemic. The final shortlist was announced after the two four-day intrasquad matches in Derbyshire where a certain Sohail Khan impressed the most, having scalped 5/50 followed by 5/37.
Meanwhile, paceman Wahab Riaz has also found a place in the team after taking an infinite break from red-ball cricket last year.
Pakistan are to play three Test matches between August 5 to Augst 25, and this will be followed by as many T20Is, running until September 1.
Squad: Azhar Ali (C), Babar Azam (VC), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Imam ul haq, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Aamir Qureshi
