Pakistan cricket selectors on Tuesday recalled star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi for the first Test against England, slated to start in Multan from October 7-11. A 15-man squad was announced by selectors, bringing left-arm spinner Noman Ali into the fold in place of injured Khurram Shahzad.
Afridi was actually dropped from the side for the first Test against Bangladesh. One of the reasons that had left Pakistan looking like a pauper in the first Test was the four pacers picked who failed to make any impact.
"Following the announcement of the squad and at the suggestion of head coach Jason Gillespie, all the selected players have been withdrawn from the play-offs of the Champions One-Day Cup to allow them some rest before the series. The squad will assemble in Multan on September 30 with a training camp starting on October 1," the Pakistan Cricket Board informed in a release on Tuesday.
Left-arm spinner Noman Ali, who has taken 47 wickets in 15 Tests, has replaced injured fast bowler Khurram Shahzad.
"Kamran Ghulam and Mohammad Ali, who have been picked for the Bangladesh Tests, are still in the selectors' plans. But owing to the purpose of the selection policy not to veer off course from uniformity and continuity for a Test team, and that 15 players is considered enough for a Test, they had been admonished and urged to continue playing for their teams in the Champions One-Day Cup and the President's Cup, which start on 3 October, so that by participating in competitive cricket, they remain match fit," the release added.
Pakistan men's red-ball head coach, Jason Gillespie, said they are looking forward to the series against England.
"With a hectic domestic and international cricket calendar, it just goes without saying that we will look to provide our players with some much-needed rest leading into the Test series against England. We are very much looking forward to the series against England here in Pakistan and can't wait for it to begin. We are excited about playing in front of our wonderful supporters," said the former Australia pacer.
Pakistan squad for 1st Test:
Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel (vc), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
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