“We have kept the options open for the 16th player in the Test squad against England, picking two left-arm spin bowlers, Zafar Gohar and Mohammad Asghar, for the brace of practice games and whoever amongst the two performs well would be added to the Test squad“, he said.
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Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq has said that he had set no deadline for retiring from the longer format and would review his future after the series against England in the United Arab Emirates. Shahid Afridi will lead the Twenty20 team while Azhar Ali will lead the ODI team for tour of Zimbabwe starting from September 27.
Chief selector Haroon Rasheed said a 16th member will be added to the squad later.
Misbah, 41, who has represented Pakistan in 58 Tests and 162 one-day internationals captaining in both formats since late 2010, had earlier said that he would like to retire on a high after playing the planned series against India in December this year, Cricket Country reported.
On the other hand, Zimbabwe squad include Elton Chigumbura (captain), Sikandar Raza, Chamu Chibhabha, Graeme Cremer, Craig Ervine, Luke Jongwe, Neville Madziva, Hamilton Masakadza, Chris Mpofu, Richmond Mutumbami (wk), Taurai Muzarabani, John Nyumbu, Tinashe Panyangara, Prosper Utseya, Malcolm Waller and Sean Williams. Fawad was in our plan for months now after his performance and we know he had been knocking at the selectors’ door for years in fact.
Pakistan have received a boost in the fast bowling department as well.
Pacemen Junaid Khan and Wahab Riaz also returned to the squad after missing part of the Sri Lanka Test series in July. The debutante opener scored a memorable 168 in his first-ever innings in Test cricket against Sri Lanka at Colombo in 2009.
Broad, who slammed his maiden Test century at Lord’s 5 years in the past, insisted that he was able to put apart the previous and settle for his Pakistan counterpart into the worldwide fold. “They are our investment and we would like to persist with them”. Fast-rising leg-spinner Yasir Shah and left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar have filled the void in the national team.
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The squads: Tests (vs England): Misbah-ul-Haq (capt.), Ahmed Shehzad, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Fawad Alam, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Wahab Riaz, Imran Khan, Rahat Ali and Junaid Khan.
