Shaheen Shah Afridi won’t play in the Test series between Pakistan and England

• PCB releases its 18-man team for the England series
• Mohammad Ali and Abrar Ahmed are given positions
• Zahid Mehmood and Mohammad Wasim Jr. recalled

LAHORE: As he recovers from surgery and an injury, Pakistani paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi was unable to play in the Men In Green’s Test series against England.

As the Babar Azam-led team prepared for the upcoming series, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief Selector Muhammad Wasim announced the 18-player roster for December’s three ICC World Test Championship matches during a press conference at the legendary Gaddafi Stadium.

The Pakistani team has suffered greatly as a result of Shaheen’s absence because they largely rely on the young bowler to spearhead their pace attack.

🚨 Our 18-player squad for the three-Test series against England 🚨#PAKvENG pic.twitter.com/NOXoTMPYDx

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) November 21, 2022

Shaheen was not eligible for selection after undergoing appendix surgery on Sunday. He will need three to four weeks of recovery time before starting his two-week right knee rehabilitation programme again.

With a career that began in 2018, Pakistan’s strike bowler Shaheen has amassed 99 Test, 62 ODI, and 58 T20 international wickets.

The team has undergone four changes since Pakistan’s most recent Test match, which was played in Sri Lanka and finished in a 1-1 tie in the two-match series. Hasan Ali, Fawad Alam, and Yasir Shah are the other three players who are not a member of the team, in addition to Shaheen.

Fawad got 25 runs in his lone Test against Sri Lanka while managing 33 runs in four innings of three Tests earlier this year against Australia. While Yasir Shah picked up nine wickets in Sri Lanka but has only taken 14 wickets in seven Quaid-e-Azam Trophy games so far, Hasan has taken five wickets in his past four Tests against Australia and Sri Lanka.

Initial Test selections

Abrar, 24, is on fire in the currently running Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. Abrar had taken 43 wickets at an average of 21.95 before the final round began on Sunday (20 November).

In six games, he has taken five five-wicket hauls, and he has been a key factor in elevating his team’s chances of reaching the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final.

Mohammad Ali of Central Punjab has been the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy’s best fast bowler for the past two seasons, taking 56 wickets. In six matches, he took 24 wickets, including two five-wicket hauls, with an average of 25.54, which is the most of any fast bowler in the first-class season.

In eight games in 2021–2022, he took 32 wickets at a strike rate of 22.78, which was a fast bowler record.

Uncapped The other two players who have returned to the team are Mohammad Wasim Jr. and Zahid Mehmood, who were both a part of the Test squad for the three Tests against Australia earlier this year.

Wasim thanked everyone who had been chosen for the historic Test series against England during his news conference.

The top selector expressed confidence in his side, saying, “I am optimistic that this team will ensure that the forthcoming Test series against England will end in the same fashion as it did when they last toured Pakistan in 2005.”

Squad

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

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