Fawad Alam was included in the 15-man squad for the three-match Test series against England. Alam, 29, who scored 168 on debut against Sri Lanka, last represented Pakistan in a Test in 2009, against New Zealand in Dunedin. Babar Azam and Ehsan Adil, members of the squad for Pakistan’s last assignment in Sri Lanka, were the only notable absentees in the Misbah-ul-Haq-led side.
The left-handed Fawad Alam last featured in a Test for Pakistan in 2009. © Getty
Fast bowler Wahab Riaz, who suffered a hand injury during that tour of Sri Lanka, returned to the squad having made a full recovery. Pakistan retained 36-year old Zulfiqar Babar as partner to lead spinner Yasir Shah and will name a third spinner in the squad following the ‘A’ side’s tour games against England. Left-arm spinners Zafar Gohar and Mohammed Asghar will vie to complete the 16-member squad.
“In the light of Misbah-ul-Haq recommendations, we have kept the options open for the 16th player in the Test squad against England, picking up two left-arm spin bowlers namely Zafar Gohar and Mohammad Asghar for the brace of practice games against England prior to the Test matches in the UAE; whoever amongst the two performs well would be added to the Test squad,” Chief Selector Haroon Rashid was quoted as saying by a PCB press release.
Pakistan also announced the squads for their limited overs assignment against Zimbabwe, which precedes their Test series against England. Sohaib Maqsood returned to both the ODI and T20I squads after recovering from the injury sustained at the 2015 World Cup. Meanwhile fast bowlers Imran Khan Jr. and Amir Yamin were fresh additions to the T20I squad.
Anwar Ali and Sarfraz Ahmed were not included in the T20I squad. The former is recovering from a groin injury and is expected to be fit in time for the ODI series while Sarfraz misses out as he would be attending Haj.
Pakistan’s tour of Zimbabwe begins on September 27 with two T20Is. The three ODIs will be played on October 1, 3 and 5 at the Harare Sports Club.
Squad for Tests against England:
Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Ahmed Shehzad, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Fawad Alam, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Wahab Riaz, Imran Khan, Rahat Ali, Junaid Khan
Squad for ODIs against Zimbabwe:
Azhar Ali (c), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Sohaib Maqsood, Shoaib Malik, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Mohammad Rizwan, Immad Wasim, Anwar Ali, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Irfan, Asad Shafiq
Squad for T20Is against Zimbabwe:
Shahid Afridi (c), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Mukhtar Ahmed, Umar Akmal, Sohaib Maqsood, Shoaib Malik, Amir Yamin, Mohammad Irfan, Bilal Asif, Wahab Riaz, Imad Wasim, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Imran Khan Jr.
