Amir dropped, Riaz recalled for Australia Tests

“Keeping in mind the conditions of the UAE” Pakistan have dropped Mohammad Amir from the 17-member squad for a two-match Test series against Australia which begins from October 7 in Dubai. His spot is filled by Wahab Riaz, who marks a return to the side, after being excluded for the tour of Ireland and England earlier this year for a questionable work ethic.

Amir, according to reports, had been looking for a break and had requested the management to rest him for the Zimbabwe tour. His request, however, was turned down as he was included in the squads for the triangular T20I and five-match ODI series. The 26-year-old’s recent dry spell with the ball in ODI cricket may have also influenced the board’s decision-making. Amir, considered to be Pakistan primary pacer, went wicket-less in the three Asia Cup matches he played. He had also failed to pick up a wicket in his last two matches of the one-day series against Zimbabwe, stretching his drought to over five matches. Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed and head coach Mickey Arthur had expressed concerns over his inability to get wickets after their defeat against India in the group phase.

Riaz was not even made a part of Pakistan’s 25-man probable squad for the side’s red-ball tour of the UK where they played Ireland in solitary Test and England in two Tests. Though the left-arm quick had passed the yo-yo test at the benchmark score of 17.4, but Arthur wanted him to do more than just bare minimum. He, however, was recently included in the Pakistan ‘A’ side for a four-day warm-up game against Australia.

“The team has been selected keeping in mind the conditions of the UAE, where Amir has been dropped from the side and Riaz and Mir Hamza come in the side,” the PCB said in a statement, after adding that the lineup had been jotted down by Inzamam ul Haq, chairman of the national selection committee, after consultation with both Sarfraz and Arthur.

Additional wicketkeeper in Mohammad Rizwan has been included in the side so Sarfraz can be rested if any such situation arises. Leadership duties seem to have taken its toll on Sarfraz as his performances with the bat have gone down since his fifty against Sri Lanka in a Champions Trophy group match last year. He has averaged 17.2 since then, passing the 50-run mark only once.

After Pakistan’s crushing defeat against Bangladesh in the Super 4 game of the Asia Cup that saw them being knocked out of the tournament, Sarfraz had revealed that he had not slept for six days, pressing on the pressure that he had to face as captain. But, when he was asked whether he needed a rest, he said: “This is not my job, this is the job of the selection committee and the PCB. Let them decide. I gave you an answer, it is not my job. My job is to play, I will play. I will keep playing.”

Pakistan had included only two specialist spinners in Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz for the Asia Cup being played on the same wickets. For the Test series, they have included three. A call possibly taken after realising the necessity of using the spinners on the slow and ever-spinning surfaces. “Three spinners Shahdab, Yasir Shah, and Bilal Asif have been kept in the squad keeping in view the UAE wickets,” the statement further said.

Pakistan squad: Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Sarfraz Ahmed , (c & wk), Yasir Shah, Shadab Khan, Bilal Asif, Mohammad Abbas, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk)