Either he or Nawaz would be a good number 8 batsman in order to increase the batting depth in the line up and provide a useful defensive left arm spin option.
Folks here need to also remember the likes of Yasir and Shadab are not suitable in English conditions earlier in the season going by what I know of the grounds here, having been to most of them - they are simply just not conducive to spin at this time of the year - 8 or 9 times out of 10 it is like bowling in New Zealand. Later in the summer, temperatures go up and sun bakes on these pitches taking all the moisture and green out of the wicket. Along with the weather, pitches become more tired as they are used more (during a heavy loaded FC season), can therefore deteriorate in time for pure wicket taking spinners to be of much more use.
As wrist spinners who are not big turners of their stock delivery and lack variations, wicket taking options already become limited. Therefore under these circumstances in a pre - English Summer, the only other realistic objective for a spinner is to bowl economically and stem the flow of runs via the means of accumulating dot ball pressure.
Yasir and Shadab do not know how to bowl defensively, which is why some posters (from another thread) have suggested the former's injury could be a blessing in disguise but guess that is no longer the case since neither Imad or Nawaz have been named in the 25 man squad. Asghar could possibly do the job or the likes of B.Asif and etc, however the batting depth of a frail batting unit has diminished further as the other spinners are even worse than Yasir with the bat! - as much as I respect his determination and resilience he isn't good enough at 8.
Everyone thinks about playing the best batsmen, pacers and spinners based on technical ability and stats but no one considers the importance of batting depth which is one of the main reasons why Pakistan is so far behind the likes of Aus, Eng, India and etc who all pay their due regard to the significance of a deep batting order. It can literally make the difference between winning and losing a match. We all remember YK's 218 at Oval but how many of us still remember the significance of the runs from the tail? - with Yasir, Amir and etc wagging with crucial partnerships with YK resulting in a 200+ unassailable lead. If Pakistan had Wasim, Waqars or M.Asifs with a half decent batting line up then perhaps they could get away with walking tail enders.
Yes the batsman are there to set the platform but don't underestimate the value of runs from lower down the order especially in low to mid scoring tests.
