Haris Sohail, Mohammad Abbas and Shan Masood fell for inconsistent receptions while Hasan Ali and Mohammad Nawaz are brought back in a major resurgence of Test squad ahead of South Africa’s first tour in the country in 13 years
The Reuters
Last updated: 15/01/21 5:23 pm
Hasan Ali played the latest of his nine Tests against South Africa in January 2019
Pakistan have named nine players who have not been caught in a major overhaul of their Test squad ahead of a two-Test home series against South Africa after a 2-0 loss in New Zealand.
Batsmen Haris Sohail and Shan Masood, footballer Mohammad Abbas and left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar, all played in the New Zealand series that ended this month, have been left out. the 20-man squad for the series kicks off in Karachi on January 26th.
Pace archers Haris Rauf and Tabish Khan, and openers Abdullah Shafique and Imran Butt are among the undefeated players who will be rewarded for strong performances in domestic cricket.
Midfielder Hasan Ali and left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz have been brought back to the squad for South Africa’s first tour of Pakistan in 13 years.
“Haris Sohail, Mohammad Abbas and Shan Masood have been let down due to inconsistent performances,” chief elector Mohammad Wasim said.
The trio, as well as Gohar, would work on their style and form at the Pakistan Cricket Board’s high-performance center in Lahore.
Fast bowler Naseem Shah, who played in New Zealand, was not considered for the series against South Africa due to a hamstring problem.
Skipper Babar Azam, who missed both tests in New Zealand with a broken thumb, is expected to be on the sidelines in the games in Karachi and Rawalpindi.
The players will enter their biosecurity bubble on Tuesday and the squad will be cut to 16 players before the Opening Test.
Pakistan Squad: Abid Ali, Abdullah Shafique, Imran Butt, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (captain), Fawad Alam, Kamran Ghulam, Salman Ali, Saud Shakeel, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (former captain), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Yasir Shah, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Tabish Khan