Pakistan Name Squads For England And West Indies Tours

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), on Friday, announced the three squads for the tours of England and the West Indies. The Babar Azam-led outfit will tour England for three ODIs and as many T20Is from July 8-20, before flying to the Caribbean for 5 T20Is and 2 Tests, the tour concluding at the end of August.

Four players have been recalled to the national side: batsman Haris Sohail to the ODI team, all-rounder Imad Wasim to the T20I side, and pacers Mohammad Abbas and Naseem Shah make returns to the Test squad.

Veteran leg-spinner Yasir Shah’s inclusion is subject to fitness; he is yet to completely recover from the knee injury that sidelined him from the Zimbabwe Tests. Therefore, leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood, left-arm spinner Nauman Ali, and off-spinner Sajid Khan are retained in the red-ball format.

Azam Khan, the hard-hitting 22-year-old Quetta Gladiators’ batsman has been given his maiden call-up to the Pakistan T20I squad.

Pakistan is coming off successful tours of South Africa and Zimbabwe winning all the series.

Chief selector Muhammad Wasim, in the statement released, talked about the selections and the recalls in white-ball squads in view of the World Cups lined up in consecutive years and the Test series for the new cycle of the World Test Championship.

“We have remained consistent in our selection and kept the same core of cricketers who have been in the set-up for a while. This is an extremely important and critical tour for Pakistan as we will be playing the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League ODIs against England as well as the T20Is against England and the West Indies as part of our preparations for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The Jamaica Test will count towards the ICC World Test Championship,” Muhammad Wasim said. 

“As such, keeping in view the above and in consultation with captain Babar Azam and head Misbah-ul-Haq, we have tried our best to maintain the winning combinations but at the same time recalled four experienced players and rewarded uncapped Azam Khan for his domestic performance, while also giving him the required confidence for the future challenges.

“Mohammad Abbas has regained his form, Naseem Shah and Haris Sohail have reclaimed the required fitness standards, while Imad Wasim has been recalled considering the T20 World Cup is likely to be held in the UAE and he enjoys an excellent record there,” the statement further added.

Pakistan squads for England and West Indies tour: