Mickey Arthur asks selectors to bring back Rahat Ali for Test series in West Indies

Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur has urged the Pakistan selectors to bolster their fast bowling line-up for the Test series against West Indies by including Rahat Ali. Arthur was pretty disappointed with the performance of Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz who failed to impress during the limited overs series.

According to reports from the Dawn, Arthur has felt the necessity to include Rahat Ali in the squad and the fast bowler will be joining the likes of Amir, Wahab, Hasan Ali and Mohammad Abbas for the upcoming Test series scheduled to begin from April 21. The duo of Amir and Wahab looked buoyed down by the workload and couldn’t pose a threat to the Caribbean batsmen.

Wahab just took 4 wickets in the 4 match T20I series giving away 108 runs and in the opening ODI, the left-arm pacer conceded 67 runs in his 10 overs which helped West Indies chase down a record total of 309. Amir was given rest by the selectors for the T20I series but returned in the ODI series to bag a 5 wicket haul but was nowhere near his best.

Under the current circumstances, the omission of in-form fast bowler Hasan Ali from the Test squad is surprising indeed but it is understood that he had an argument with bowling coach Azhar Mahmood during the Australian tour. Sohail should have been a better option than Rahat who has a pretty ordinary Test record with just 58 wickets to his name in 20 Tests at an unimpressive average if 37.43.

As per reports from the Dawn, out of favour all-rounder, Hammad Azam can fill the gap of batting all-rounder if he gets the backing from the team management. “In the past, Hammad was destroyed due to selectors’ inconsistent attitude with him. But he can easily grab the all-rounder spot if the team management and selectors give him confidence and regular chances,” the official told Dawn