Daily Times

LAHORE: The Pakistan cricket Board (PCB) selection committee, headed by former Test batsman Mohammad Waseem, on Friday recalled pacer Hasan Ali to a 20-member national squad named for the upcoming two-match Test series against South Africa. By including nine uncapped players in the outfit, the new selection committee has overhauled the Test squad following a 2-0 defeat in New Zealand. Batsmen Haris Sohail and Shan Masood, paceman Mohammad Abbas and left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar, who all played in the series in New Zealand, have been left out for the series starting in Karachi on January 26. Pace bowlers Haris Rauf and Tabish Khan, and openers Abdullah Shafique and Imran Butt are among the uncapped players rewarded for their strong performances in domestic cricket. Left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz has also been recalled for the Test series, which will be Proteas first tour of Pakistan in 13 years. Nawaz took 22 wickets and scored 744 runs in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. He last played a Test against the West Indies in Sharjah in 2016. Nawaz and Faheem Ashraf are the two-all-rounders in a side that also includes three openers, six middle-order batsmen, two wicketkeepers, three spinners and four fast bowlers.

“Haris Sohail, Mohammad Abbas and Shan Masood have been dropped due to inconsistent performances,” chief selector Wasim said after naming the squad at a press conference in Karachi on Friday. Fast bowler Naseem Shah, who played in New Zealand, was not considered for the series against South Africa because of a hamstring problem. Similarly, opening batsman Imamul Haq and all-rounder Shadab Khan were not considered for the series because of injuries. Skipper Babar Azam, who missed both the Tests in New Zealand with a fractured thumb, is set to lead the side in the matches in Karachi and Rawalpindi. The players will enter their bio-secure bubble on Tuesday and the squad will be trimmed to 16 players before the opening Test. The Proteas are set to arrive in Pakistan on a chartered flight on January 16 (today) and will be tested for Covid-19 upon arrival and form a bio-secure bubble for the duration of the tour. They will quarantine until January 20, when they will be tested again before a decision is taken on when the side begins training. The first Test begins on January 26 in Karachi, with the second on February 4 in Rawalpindi. The sides are then set to play three T20Is in Lahore to round off the tour.

Hasan, once the No.1-ranked ODI bowler in the world, is back after a supremely successful Quaid-e-Azam Trophy season, which ended with him being named player of the tournament. The 26-year-old Central Punjab bowler, whose ninth and last Test appearance was against South Africa in Johannesburg, took more wickets than any other quick all season, with 43 at 20.06 per scalp. After a number of years out of the game with a back injury which still needs careful tending to, Hasan has appeared to regain the yard of pace he lost through 2019 and 2020, which resulted in him losing his central contract and dropping out of Pakistan contention completely. Moreover, Pakistan have struggled with runs lower down the order, and Hasan’s ability with the bat –– he scored a hundred in the final of the QeA Trophy –– looks set to count in his favour.

“For the players who have narrowly missed out on selection, I want to encourage them to retain their focus and continue to work hard as we have a busy and packed 2021 ahead. This means there will potentially be opportunities at some stage down the year. I will like to see these players continue to focus on their fitness and form even after curtain falls on the 2020-21 season so that whenever they get a call-up, they are ready to cash in on the opportunity,” said chief selector Wasim. “Kamran Ghulam (1,249 runs), Saud Shakeel (970 runs) and Salman Ali Agha (941 runs) walk into the middle-order to support Azhar Ali, Babar Azam and Fawad Alam. This is a formidable and highly skilled middle-order, which will encourage a further healthy competition for a permanent place in the side,” he added.

Wasim said the horses for courses policy meant performers like left-arm spinner Nauman Ali, off-spinner Sajid Shah, and fast bowlers Haris Rauf and Tabish Khan would be available for selection, depending on the team composition for the first Test against South Africa in Pakistan in 14 years. “Tabish Khan has been preferred over Sohail Khan as he is more effective and useful in Pakistan conditions. Like Mohammad Abbas, Tabish is a workhorse, who can bowl long spells with controlled line and length. His 598 career first-class wickets, including 30 wickets this season, is a testament that he is a like-to-like replacement for Mohammad Abbas in the given conditions,” he concluded.

Pakistan Test squad to play South Africa:

Openers: Abid Ali (Central Punjab), Abdullah Shafique (Central Punjab), Imran Butt (Balochistan)

Middle-order batsmen: Azhar Ali (Central Punjab), Babar Azam (captain, Central Punjab), Fawad Alam (Sindh), Kamran Ghulam (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Salman Ali Agha (Southern Punjab), Saud Shakeel (Sindh)

All-rounders: Faheem Ashraf (Central Punjab), Mohammad Nawaz (Northern)

Wicketkeepers: Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Sindh)

Spinners: Nauman Ali (Northern), Sajid Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Yasir Shah (Balochistan)

Fast bowlers: Haris Rauf (Northern), Hasan Ali (Central Punjab), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Tabish Khan (Sindh).