LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selection committee, headed by former Test captain Inzamamul Haq, on Sunday included fast bowler Mohammad Amir and all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez in a 17-member Test squad named for England tour. Provided he is granted a visa to travel to Britain, the series will mark Amir’s first Test appearance since he was cleared to return to the sport last September. He had made a comeback to Pakistan’s limited-overs’ squad earlier this year. Amir was rated among the world’s most exciting fast bowlers before a 2010 spot-fixing scandal that resulted in bans and jail sentences for him, former Test captain Salman Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif. He has already toured New Zealand for a limited-overs series, played in the Asia Cup in Bangladesh and featured in the World Twenty20 in India since serving his ban. With the team set to depart on June 18, the PCB is hopeful that Amir will be granted a visa|. His application is also supported by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). The 24-year-old is expected to receive his British visa in the next couple of days following a special request for leniency from the PCB. Pakistan will play four Tests, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 International in England between July 14 and September 7.
Hafeez has been picked despite suffering a knee injury which had ruled him out of the conditioning camp in Abbottabad. Hafeez had aggravated an old injury, which he suffered during the World T20 in March. With more than a month to go for the first Test, the selectors are hopeful Hafeez will be fit for the series. The right-hander batsman underwent an MRI scan last week in Karachi, which revealed that the condition of his knee has not improved. However, the 35-year-old managed to make his place in the 21-man probable list for the England tour which was announced last week. His prospects of accompanying the team remained bleak after his medical report said his knee condition was ‘unsatisfactory’. Hafeez’s inclusion raises questions as the Inzamam-led committee clearly put fitness as the most important criteria for selection.
Regular opener Ahmad Shahzad was not selected over disciplinary problems, leaving the opening positions to the inexperienced left-handed pair of Shan Masood, who has played seven Tests, and Sami Aslam, who has played one. Aslam, 20, however, starred against England during a Pakistan junior team tour in 2013, when he hit three centuries. Pakistan’s batting will also be tested but the experienced Younus Khan – who toured England in 2001 and 2006 — will be their mainstay. Besides Younus, Azhar Ali and Hafeez are the only two who have previously played Tests in England.
Legspinner Yasir Shah has also been picked for his first international series after the end of his doping ban in March. The bowler had missed Pakistan’s tour to New Zealand, Asia Cup T20 and World T20 after he was given a three-month suspension by the ICC. Yasir was provisionally suspended under the ICC’s Anti-Doping Code in December after he tested positive for a banned substance, chlortalidone, and a three-month suspension was given after he pleaded guilty to breaching the code. The penalty, which was backdated to December, ended on March 27. The legspinner, however, did suffer an injury scare last month, when he missed the fitness camp in Abbottabad after aggravating an old knee injury. Zulfiqar Babar is the other spinner named in the squad.
After a long time, the PCB named a back-up wicketkeeper – Mohammad Rizwan – who is yet to make his Test debut. He has played 15 ODIs and nine T20Is since his international debut against Bangladesh last year. Chief selector Inzamam told reporters at a press conference that Rizwan was picked to take some workload off Sarfraz Ahmad since it was a long tour. “Rizwan has been playing in T20s and he has been doing well in ODIs. We are sending two keepers because there are four Tests and it will be a good opportunity for Rizwan too.”
Four other fast bowlers, apart from Amir, in the squad of 17 are Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Sohail Khan and Imran Khan. Sohail, who last played a Test in September 2011, was part of Pakistan’s squad for the 2015 World Cup, where he played seven matches and was the second-highest wicket-taker for the side with 12 wickets. His tally included a five-for in his comeback ODI against India at the Adelaide Oval. Inzamam said the selectors were keeping an eye on Junaid Khan’s progress too, but he needed more time to recover before being picked for an international tour. “Junaid had a knee injury and struggled a bit after that. It will take him some time now to get back into rhythm and then we will consider him again. We have picked Sohail instead because his performance has been very good. I saw him bowl during the camp and he is in really good rhythm. Inshallah he will do well on the England tour.”
The last time Pakistan toured England for a Test series was in 2010 and their last Test series outside the subcontinent against one of the top eight sides was to South Africa in early 2013. Pakistan lost all three Tests on that tour and Inzamam admitted touring outside Asia was something that bothered him. “My only concern is that we have hardly played outside the subcontinent in the last six-seven years. Otherwise the Pakistan team are known to play aggressive cricket across the world. I think that is the strength of this team – aggression.” Pakistan will undergo a conditioning camp in Hampshire and will play two tour matches – against Somerset and Sussex – before the first Test at Lord’s, which starts from July 14. They will play another tour match, against Worcestershire, between the second and third Tests at Old Trafford and Edgbaston, respectively. The fourth Test will be played at The Oval from August 11.
Pakistan Test Squad: Mohammad Hafeez, Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Misbahul Haq (capt), Younis Khan, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Iftikhar Ahmad, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Zulfiqar Babar, Yasir Shah, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Rahat Ali, Imran Khan and Sohail Khan.