It's time for Pakistan to forget about Asian Test conditions.
The team has either 6 of 9 Test matches in the next 15 months, and they are:
DEFINITE
Ireland away in the rainy month of May (1 Test)
England away in the rainy month of May (2 Tests at Lords and Leeds)
South Africa away in December 2018
POSSIBLE
Zimbabwe and/or South Africa away in November 2017
English and Irish Tests in May will not see any spin bowling used at all. While South African conditions are identical to Australian ones, except at altitude in Johannesburg and Centurion, where spin bowlers play no part.
I personally doubt that an extra series in South Africa will take place in November. South Africa is already hosting a record 10 Tests this southern summer, and Pakistan tours there anyway one year later.
So first, consider the conditions. We saw at Christchurch and Hamilton that Yasir Shah barely bowled in the First Test and wasn't even picked in the Second, and the same will certainly apply at Leeds but also at high altitude in Johannesburg and at Centurion.
Those are three Tests in which a spinner will not even be selectable unless he can bat in the Top Seven of the batting order.
By the same token, a fourth or preferably fifth fast bowler will be a must in all of these Tests, not so much for his own effectiveness but to keep the three main ones fresh, with the strike bowlers hopefully bowling 4 x 4-5 over spells in a day each.
As for the batting, it's a matter of who NOT to pick.
Shan Masood's troubles against anything quicker than 115K outside offstump persist, and he is surely unselectable outside Asia in spite of Daddy's role on the PCB Board of Governors.
I don't want any part of Salman Butt or Mohammad Asif because of their age, and because no Test cricket is even scheduled until May 2018. This only changes if suddenly Tests are announced in South Africa THIS November, because suddenly there will be a need four weeks from now for a team in transition to have experts in the conditions - which Asif and Butt's prior record in Australia says they are.
My Test squad for England and for South Africa next year would read:
BATSMEN
Sami Aslam
Ahmed Shehzad
Azhar Ali
Babar Azam
Haris Sohail
Umar Akmal
Usman Salahuddin
ALL-ROUNDERS
Aamer Yamin
Hammad Azam
Mohammad Nawaz
WICKETKEEPER
Sarfraz Ahmed
SPINNER
Yasir Shah
QUICK BOWLERS
Mohammad Amir
Mohammad Abbas
Hassan Ali
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Wahab Riaz
Sameen Gul
This would mean a probable line-up of:
1. Sami Aslam
2. Ahmed Shehzad
3. Azhar Ali
4. Haris Sohail
5. Babar Azam
6. Sarfraz Ahmed (c/wk)
7. Aamer Yamin
8. Mohammad Amir
9. Hasan Ali
10. Shaheen Shah Afridi (replaced by Yasir Shah at Lords, Cape Town, Durban)
11. Mohammad Abbas
The only changes I'd make would be if Tests take place in South Africa next month. That's too soon for Shaheen Shah Afridi and probably also for Ahmed Shehzad, who needs to prove himself against pace in England and Ireland before he can be risked on bouncy tracks. If Tests take place next month in South Africa, I'd pick Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif instead of Shehzad and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
We saw in England, Australia and New Zealand that Yasir Shah played 8 Tests and was massacred in 6 of them. He really is unselectable next year except for at Lords and at sea level in South Africa.
The team has either 6 of 9 Test matches in the next 15 months, and they are:
DEFINITE
Ireland away in the rainy month of May (1 Test)
England away in the rainy month of May (2 Tests at Lords and Leeds)
South Africa away in December 2018
POSSIBLE
Zimbabwe and/or South Africa away in November 2017
English and Irish Tests in May will not see any spin bowling used at all. While South African conditions are identical to Australian ones, except at altitude in Johannesburg and Centurion, where spin bowlers play no part.
I personally doubt that an extra series in South Africa will take place in November. South Africa is already hosting a record 10 Tests this southern summer, and Pakistan tours there anyway one year later.
So first, consider the conditions. We saw at Christchurch and Hamilton that Yasir Shah barely bowled in the First Test and wasn't even picked in the Second, and the same will certainly apply at Leeds but also at high altitude in Johannesburg and at Centurion.
Those are three Tests in which a spinner will not even be selectable unless he can bat in the Top Seven of the batting order.
By the same token, a fourth or preferably fifth fast bowler will be a must in all of these Tests, not so much for his own effectiveness but to keep the three main ones fresh, with the strike bowlers hopefully bowling 4 x 4-5 over spells in a day each.
As for the batting, it's a matter of who NOT to pick.
Shan Masood's troubles against anything quicker than 115K outside offstump persist, and he is surely unselectable outside Asia in spite of Daddy's role on the PCB Board of Governors.
I don't want any part of Salman Butt or Mohammad Asif because of their age, and because no Test cricket is even scheduled until May 2018. This only changes if suddenly Tests are announced in South Africa THIS November, because suddenly there will be a need four weeks from now for a team in transition to have experts in the conditions - which Asif and Butt's prior record in Australia says they are.
My Test squad for England and for South Africa next year would read:
BATSMEN
Sami Aslam
Ahmed Shehzad
Azhar Ali
Babar Azam
Haris Sohail
Umar Akmal
Usman Salahuddin
ALL-ROUNDERS
Aamer Yamin
Hammad Azam
Mohammad Nawaz
WICKETKEEPER
Sarfraz Ahmed
SPINNER
Yasir Shah
QUICK BOWLERS
Mohammad Amir
Mohammad Abbas
Hassan Ali
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Wahab Riaz
Sameen Gul
This would mean a probable line-up of:
1. Sami Aslam
2. Ahmed Shehzad
3. Azhar Ali
4. Haris Sohail
5. Babar Azam
6. Sarfraz Ahmed (c/wk)
7. Aamer Yamin
8. Mohammad Amir
9. Hasan Ali
10. Shaheen Shah Afridi (replaced by Yasir Shah at Lords, Cape Town, Durban)
11. Mohammad Abbas
The only changes I'd make would be if Tests take place in South Africa next month. That's too soon for Shaheen Shah Afridi and probably also for Ahmed Shehzad, who needs to prove himself against pace in England and Ireland before he can be risked on bouncy tracks. If Tests take place next month in South Africa, I'd pick Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif instead of Shehzad and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
We saw in England, Australia and New Zealand that Yasir Shah played 8 Tests and was massacred in 6 of them. He really is unselectable next year except for at Lords and at sea level in South Africa.
