Pakistan announce squad for Test series against West Indies!
Dec 31, 2018 at 1:56 PM
Pakistan named a 14 member squad for the upcoming test series against West Indies in UAE, commencing from the 13th of October. The first test will be a historic day and night test, which will be played with the pink ball in Dubai. There were quite a few changes to the squad which performed well in England earlier this year.
Young batsman Babar Azam, who notched three consecutive centuries in the ODI leg of the tour, was rewarded with a maiden call-up in the test side. Veteran batsman Mohammad Hafeez, who was all at sea in England, was axed after a string of low scores to his name. Younis Khan, who was ruled out due to dengue, will join the test squad from the 2nd game of the series.
Chief selector Inzamam Ul Haq was quite optimistic about the test squad as he spoke to the press. Justifying the selection of all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz, Inzamam said, “We have been searching for one who can bat in the lower order and bowl as well. And if you look at Nawaz, he has got a good first-class record. It shows he has been promising with the bat and has competed as a bowler.”
Inzamam added that people, who didn’t impress in England, were given opportunities to find some form in the Pakistani domestic circuit. “Those who are good but weren’t able to perform in England, we made them play in first-class cricket. We didn’t want them to waste their time on the bench but rather they play some cricket get themselves back into form.”
“See this is our home series and if we need anyone we can bring them over,” Inzamam said. “And if you recall, in the England series, it was Azhar who opened the innings so it’s fine. He knows he will open again,” Inzamam added.
Pakistan squad for the first Test vs West Indies:
Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Imran Khan, Mohammad Amir, Rahat Ali, Sami Aslam, Sarfraz Ahmed, Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz