Pakistan ring the changes for England Tests

Shaheen Shah Afridi remains sidelined after undergoing an appendectomy. Four players yet to play a Test are included, while there is no place for Yasir Shah or Hasan Ali

Nick Howson | 21/11/2022 at 09:10

Pakistan men have included four uncapped Test players in the squad for the upcoming series against England.

Legspinner Abrar Ahmed and Zahid Mahmood, who has played five white-ball matches, are joined by seamers Mohammad Ali and Mohammad Wasim Jnr.

There is no place for Shaheen Shah Afridi, who is unavailable for selection after he underwent an appendectomy.

Fawad Alam, Yasir Shah and Hasan Ali have all been left out from the squad which faced Sri Lanka in July.

Pakistan Test squad v England

Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Ali, Shan Masood, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Nawaz, Nauman Ali, Saud Shakeel, Zahid Mahmood, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed

There is plenty of excitement over Abrar, the leading wicket-taker in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy with 43 in six matches for Sindh.

Thirty-year-old Ali from Central Punjab is the leading quick in the competition with 24 scalps at 25.54

Mahmood, whose international debut came against Australia in March, has 13 wickets this term and averages 23.37 in first-class cricket.

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^{Babar Azam's side are eyeing a strong end to their World Test Championship campaign (ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP via Getty Images)}

Wasim Jnr was called up as cover during the Australia Tests but is yet to add to his eight ODI and 26 T20I outings for Pakistan, the most recent of which came in the World Cup final defeat to England in Melbourne.

While Ben Stokes' side are out of contention to qualify for next year's World Test Championship final, Pakistan sit fifth in the table and remain in contention to secure a top-two finish but require convincing series wins over England and New Zealand across their five remaining Tests.

The series kicks off in Rawalpindi on December 1 before moving to Multan (December 9) and Karachi (December 17).