PCB announces 20-man Test squad for England tour; Wahab Riaz returns

Pakistan has announced a shortened 20-man squad for the Test series against England starting from August 5. Former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed and fast bowler Wahab Riaz have made a comeback to the squad, while middle-order batsman Iftikhar Ahmed has been left out. There were expectations of him replacing Haris Sohail, who decided to opt-out due to the concerns about the pandemic, but that wasn’t the case.

Earlier, 29 names were announced for a collective squad of Tests and T20Is. The jumbo squad was announced keeping in mind the situation due to COVID-19. Meanwhile, Wahab had shown his willingness to join back the Test set-up after opting out of the longer format indefinitely last year. The selectors have eventually given him a place in the final squad.

Importantly, all eyes will be on Babar Azam, the star batsman. The right-hander is the number one ranked batsman on the ICC ranking in T20Is and will be looking to make his Test record even better. Babar, who is counted as one of the best batsmen in the world at the moment, has a better limited-overs record as compared to the red-ball cricket. As it is the end of summer in England, the pitches are expected to be dry and helpful to the batsmen but the English team has always prospered in home conditions.

Sarfaraz Ahmed – The second choice keeper

Former captain Sarfaraz, who was sacked from Test and T20I captaincy the previous October, is the second choice wicketkeeper in the squad, behind the youthful Mohammad Rizwan, who also toured Australia last year and played Bangladesh at home this February. It will be interesting to see if he finds a place in the playing XI or not. Sarfaraz is an experienced campaigner and is known as one of the best captains the country ever had.

The team also comprises uncapped spinner, Kashif Bhatti, although he is behind Yasir Shah and Shadab Khan in the spin bowling pecking order. The team also includes Fawad Alam who last played a Test match in 2009. The T20Is will start on August 28. Before that, the Test series will start at Old Trafford before heading to the other two matches.

Here’s Pakistan Test squad:

Azhar Ali (c), Babar Azam, Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah.