Pakistan name 29-man squad for England tour

The enlarged travelling party also includes white-ball specialists, with the sides to face off in three Tests and three T20Is between August and September

Pakistan have named a 29-man squad for their upcoming tour of England to be played in August and September.

The enlarged travelling party also includes white-ball specialists, with the sides to face off in three Tests and three T20Is. The group will travel together, with players selected in either format remaining in England from the beginning to the end of the trip. Exact dates have not yet been confirmed.

The squad comprises 13 batsmen, 14 bowlers and two wicketkeepers – one of whom is former captain Sarfraz Ahmed. He has not played Test cricket since January 2019.

Pakistan Under-19 batsman Haider Ali is also among the names called up – he played nine games during the most recent Pakistan Super League for Peshawar Zalmi.

Kashif Bhatti is the only other uncapped player named in the group. He was part of the Test squad against Australia and Sri Lanka but did not play.

Four reserves have also been announced, with Bilal Asif, Imran Butt, Musa Khan and Mohammad Nawaz named as cover should any of the 29 selected fail pre-tour coronavirus tests, which will be carried out on June 20 and June 25.

Meanwhile, batsman Haris Sohail and seamers Hasan Ali and Mohammad Amir are absent for different reasons. Ali has a back problem, while Amir is remaining in Pakistan in order to attend the birth of his second child in August.

Due to quarantine logistics and the dates of the tour, Amir would have been unable to take part in the trip, were he join up with his squad after the birth. Sohail has opted out of the tour due fears around the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chief selector and head coach Misbah-ul-Haq said: “The selectors have picked a squad which gives us the best chance of success in England. It was a challenging process as the players have not played for an extended period of time, but nevertheless, with the month that we will have in England and the intense training we will undergo, we are confident we will get the players up to the mark to be ready for the three Tests.

“But the main focus of the selectors has been red-ball cricket, which we will play for nearly two months with the T20Is to be played at the backend of the ICC World Test Championship fixtures.

“The series against England will be challenging as our players have not played any competitive cricket since March, while the home team will come following a series against the West Indies. This means we will have to hit the ground running as soon as we land in England and make the best use of the training sessions and match practice before we enter the first Test.”

Squad: Abid Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali (c), Babar Azam (c, T20I), Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imran Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz, Imad Wasim, Kashif Bhatti, Shadab Khan, Yasir Shah

Save 30% when you subscribe to The Cricketer’s print & digital bundle. £35 for 12 issues