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PCB announce names of 25 players for initial camp (Test series vs Ireland and England)

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Players for Pakistan Test Team Initial Camp

Lahore April 10, 2018:The National Selection Committee headed by Inzamam ul Haq has called the following players for the initial Test Camp from 11th till 15th April, 2018 at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore prior the tour of Ireland and England :



BATSMAN:

1. Azhar Ali

2. Sami Aslam

3. Haris Sohail

4. Asad Shafiq

5. Babar Azam

6. Fakhar Zaman

7. Usman Salahuddin

8. Fawad Alam

9. Saad Ali

10. Imam ul Haq



SPINNERS:

11. Bilal Asif

12. Muhammad Asghar

13. Shadab Khan

14. Kashif Bhatti


FAST BOWLERS:

15. Muhammad Amir

16. Muhammad Abbas (exempted as allowed to play county in England)

17. Hasan Ali

18. Rahat Ali

19. Mir Hamza



WICKETKEEPERS:

20. Sarfaraz Ahmed

21. Muhammad Rizwan



ALL-ROUNDERS:


22. Fahim Ashraf

23. Hussain Tallat



(Player Development)

24. Shaheen Shah Afridi

25. Musa Khan



The followng players have not been considered due to injuries.

Yasir Shah (Fracture Hip. Rest and rehab 6-12 weeks)

Shan Masood (knee injury)

Final Test Team will be announced later and their camp will continue from 18th till 22nd April, 2018. The team will depart on 23rd April, 2018.
 
That's a pretty good list except for Imam and Fawad. Not bad.

Before people start complaining about Mir Hamza, remember that it will be swinging conditions and he has to be one of the best swing bowlers in Pakistan.
Remeber that inswinger he bowled in England playing for Pakistan A
 
what more does Muhammed Nawaz has to do to get into this team even when Yasir, Imad both are injured.

Bowling looks super weak, i would have taken Wahab
 
This is a good squad.

The only concern I have is regarding Bilal Asif - from what I have seen of him he is clearly not international quality and I am very surprised to see him in the reckoning.

I really think either leg spinner Mohammed Irfan or Zafar Gauhar should have been selected in his place.

Pleasing to see Shaheen and Musa involved.
 
where is Wahab?
And Saud Shakil.
Musa is a good addition.
Zafar Gauhar should have been there.
 
Very happy to see this list actually. Good job Inzi & Co.

- No Hafeez
- No Wahab
- No Shaan

I don't know much about the spinners mentioned there... But I don't find any passengers in the list of 25! :)
 
No complain with the squad it is very good very happy to musa in the camp hopefully he will impress mickey and azhar to selected for ucoming series
 
Decent squad. Should opt for Shadab as our main spinner. Say to off spinners or left arm slow in non Asian conditions.
 
Good squad. Great to see Fawad and Imam rewarded for their performances in the correct formats. Also good to see Kashif Bhatti rewarded for his very impressive domestic season, definitely deserves to be there ahead of Zafar and Nawaz who are better in limited overs but not particularly impressed with their bowling in first class yet. Don't rate Bilal but he's an off-spinner so brings variety and there isn't a lot of competition with off-spinners right now.
 
We can always quibble, such as as I would like to have seen Zafar and Yamin, but overall this is a great positive list.

I hope they stick with it regardless of result


Shan's injury is a blessing
 
MenInG said:
Fakhar Zaman as a Test opener?
Click to expand...

England is probably to stiff a challenge for his debut but overall thats a good move.

His first class record is pretty good and even in Tests the modern game does require some tempo everynow and then.
 
CricketingMinds said:
Very happy to see this list actually. Good job Inzi & Co.

- No Hafeez
- No Wahab
- No Shaan

I don't know much about the spinners mentioned there... But I don't find any passengers in the list of 25! :)
Click to expand...

I was really excited about no Shan but it was premature, he is listed as injured below

so i guess Dad's Dream lives on if barely
 
sully3 said:
what more does Muhammed Nawaz has to do to get into this team even when Yasir, Imad both are injured.

Bowling looks super weak, i would have taken Wahab
Click to expand...

Im guessing he would have been picked but Khasif Bhatti did have a great domestic season and can bat.

Bial Asif is picked because he is an offspinner

Asghar because he has been in the squad for a while

Shadab is the yasir replacement
 
Squad is fine overall and the best it could possibly be, pace bowling is a bit thin though but am not sure there are many better alternatives, great to see Hasan Ali hope he can be that X-Factor
 
Mir Hamza is an excellent option; these conditions are perfect for him, he will run through England batting lineup if selected.
 
Looks like...
Sami
???
Azhar
Asad
Babar
Haris
Fawad or salahuddin

Would have preferred shehzad, he can play tests nothing elss
 
Wahab should have been in there. Nice to see Fakhar, Salahudin and Saad Ali in there.
 
UN talkz said:
Mir Hamza is an excellent option; these conditions are perfect for him, he will run through England batting lineup if selected.
Click to expand...

Just like Odean Smith who was supposed to run through Pak batting lineup :srt
 
Good to see Musa, SSA is getting all the attention & rightly so but I have a feeling this lad will come in & hit the ground running & u19 WC he bowled with so much maturity 👍🏽 Proper thinking bowler, Amir like
 
Disappointed to see no Nawaz or Imad. The batting line up needs depth and the bowling needs a defensive spinner to keep it tight in conditions which will not be expected to be conducive against spin.

Lets hope Rahat doesn't make the final squad because he averaged 50 last time in 2016.
 
Only disappointing thing is the spinners. Would have liked to see Irfan and Gohar in place of Asghar and Bilal.

Nice to see Saad Ali. Sadly, I think this call up for Fawad is a few years too late. Would have liked to see Shakeel instead.

No Shezzy or Professor though. Good to see.
 
Would like to have seen selfie in the test squad instead of Imam as he has done nothing to merit a place in the camp
 
babajee said:
Just like Odean Smith who was supposed to run through Pak batting lineup :srt
Click to expand...

Haha; u remember a lot of things. :))
But i am serious about Hamza, he has played in England before during A team tour in early summer and he was swinging it miles; just the perfect conditions for him.
 
If Fawad doesn’t get into the playing 11 for the 1st game then he should retire from international cricket
 
Apart from Rahat Ali, a pretty decent sqaud picked.
 
Mirpur express said:
Would like to have seen selfie in the test squad instead of Imam as he has done nothing to merit a place in the camp
Click to expand...

What exactly has selfie done to warrant a spot in the test squad except fail for the last 7-8 years. With Imam, there is hope that he may click and perform which can no longer be said about Shezy.
 
Good squad of 25.. Well done Inzi & Co.

Good to see Saad Ali, Imam, Sami Aslam, Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Mir hamza and Fakhar Zaman in the mix. and No Hafeez, Shehzad, Wahab, Masood.

Now lets see who makes it to final 15-16

I think

Azhar ali, Babar, Haris , Asad, Sarfraz, Amir, Hasan, Abbas and Sami Aslam are obvious choices.. Wouldnt see Usman Salahuddin being dropped before giving a chance so that makes 10 players.

10/15-16 is obvious.

Its between Imam and Fakhar for the opening slot.
Saad Ali and Fawad Alam for the middle order backup
Rahat ali, Mir Hamza Faheem Ashraf and Hussain Talat fight for 2 vacant spots
and the spinners fight for the other 2 vacant spots.
 
Impressive squad. Batting is especially impressive, no complains there at all. Asides from Shadab, I'm not too familiar with the spinners but hopefully whoever is given the chance will succeed. Spacers are decent. But we don't have a proven good fast bowler. Amir hasn't done well at all since his comeback and Hasan and Abbas are fairly new. Wouldn't have mind seeing Wahab tbh, in tests only of course. Overall good job selectors and Mickey.
 
you can't judge off one delivery but Mir Hamza does swing it miles in the right conditions.

This was him on the A tour to Eng


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-33wOYoXdsA" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Sameen Gul looked a better, pacier version of Mir Hamza.



Hamza has never impressed me. He seems like the kind of guy who can only perform when everything falls in place, the pitch is a green top, the sky is overcast, light humidity and the stars are perfectly aligned.
 
Syed1 said:
Sameen Gul looked a better, pacier version of Mir Hamza.



Hamza has never impressed me. He seems like the kind of guy who can only perform when everything falls in place, the pitch is a green top, the sky is overcast, light humidity and the stars are perfectly aligned.
Click to expand...

That description reminds me of Amir.
 
Most camps would be happy to see the list of 25 which its made for. Doubt that happiness and goodwill would last. Around 8-10 players will be discarded to make the squad.

Inzamam has made sure his nephew gets in. Again similar type of selection where tried, tested and failed, Azhar Ali, Sami Aslam and Imam Haq [to debut] all set for opening slot to face the new bowl on English conditions, lol. Needed to go with Sahibzada Farhan and other openers for the camp which Inzamam would never do.

Those wo are happy now would be crying looking at the squad as they're expecting too much from this selection panel.
 
Syed1 said:
Sameen Gul looked a better, pacier version of Mir Hamza.



Hamza has never impressed me. He seems like the kind of guy who can only perform when everything falls in place, the pitch is a green top, the sky is overcast, light humidity and the stars are perfectly aligned.
Click to expand...

I think Shaheen is clearly the young pacer they are focussing on now.

I get your point on Hamza, but if he is going to succeed anywhere its on this tour, plus he has an outstanding record that stand up to someone like Sadaf, despite playing more in Karachi as compared to Pindi.

I think Junaid is a bit unlucky to miss out, i reckon we are to quick to write him off for tests. His record is actually the best for all of our recent pacers bar Abbas
 
Kazim_Pak86 said:
Most camps would be happy to see the list of 25 which its made for. Doubt that happiness and goodwill would last. Around 8-10 players will be discarded to make the squad.

Inzamam has made sure his nephew gets in. Again similar type of selection where tried, tested and failed, Azhar Ali, Sami Aslam and Imam Haq [to debut] all set for opening slot to face the new bowl on English conditions, lol. Needed to go with Sahibzada Farhan and other openers for the camp which Inzamam would never do.

Those wo are happy now would be crying looking at the squad as they're expecting too much from this selection panel.
Click to expand...

Sahibzada Farhan? :))) :))) :)))
 
ask_analyse_act said:
Good squad of 25.. Well done Inzi & Co.

Good to see Saad Ali, Imam, Sami Aslam, Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Mir hamza and Fakhar Zaman in the mix. and No Hafeez, Shehzad, Wahab, Masood.

Now lets see who makes it to final 15-16

I think

Azhar ali, Babar, Haris , Asad, Sarfraz, Amir, Hasan, Abbas and Sami Aslam are obvious choices.. Wouldnt see Usman Salahuddin being dropped before giving a chance so that makes 10 players.

10/15-16 is obvious.

Its between Imam and Fakhar for the opening slot.
Saad Ali and Fawad Alam for the middle order backup
Rahat ali, Mir Hamza Faheem Ashraf and Hussain Talat fight for 2 vacant spots
and the spinners fight for the other 2 vacant spots.
Click to expand...


I dont think Fawad will be picked, he is getting on a bit and I dont think Mickey is a fan. Plus he doesnt score many tons anymore, something Mickey has stated is a problem with our batsmen.

I suspect that Usman will be the spare middle order bat. After that it depends if they want another batsmen or to take a risk on Talat. He hasn't earnt a test call ( hasnt even made a first class ton) but I can see them taking a punt on the basis of pontential

Only see one spinner being picked due to the conditions.

Mickey in the past has alluded to having a stroke maker up top in tests, and was trying that with Sharjeel before he got banned.

So I expect this to be the final squad


1. Fakhar
2. Azhar
3. Babar
4. Hairs
5. Asad
6. Usman
7. Sarfraz
8. Shadab
9. Amir
10. Hasan
11. Abbas

12. Rahat - Mickey and sarfraz like him, I reckon he would come in for Shadab based on conditions
13. Sami - has some performances in england
14. Mir/Shaheen
15. Saad /Talat

I think Saad deserves selection in the 11, but this is how I see things going
 
First impressions were that it was a great squad.

Will be great to see PAK wear the whites after seven long months.
 
world cup captain said:
What exactly has selfie done to warrant a spot in the test squad except fail for the last 7-8 years. With Imam, there is hope that he may click and perform which can no longer be said about Shezy.
Click to expand...

His test numbers are good & since he can’t bat above SR of 70 in loi’s he should only be considered for tests as for Imam well. ul Haq gets him in as he has done zilch 0 in first class
 
Mirpur express said:
His test numbers are good & since he can’t bat above SR of 70 in loi’s he should only be considered for tests as for Imam well. ul Haq gets him in as he has done zilch 0 in first class
Click to expand...

If I remember correctly, he hadn't scored a single century since he got hit in the head thus he was dropped. I don't know what he has done in FC but it sure doesn't reflect in his batting in limited overs cricket. On the other hand, Imam is young so there is something to work with. We have already wasted years on Shezy, now it's time to dump him.
 
Who is the Vice-Captain? Azhar Ali?

(If Sarfaraz gets injured...who becomes the captain)?
 
Overall a very good call, though not necessarily the final 17 has to be selected from this bunch only. I think, won't be either, because the pace bowling resources are thin in this list - Wahab has to be there in Test squad. Also, Shan is injured, hence MoHa has a chance through back door.

For once, I would have loved to see Sadaf in the list, but I guess we have our answer here. After so much talking in PP and PAK media, still Mickey, Ul Haq & Azhar (I am sure they follow it, or at least someone summarizes key notes to them) didn't bother to call him, but they have called the batting version of Sadaf - it has to be the end.

Would have liked to see Umaid & Sameen in the list as well - there was no reason to call Bilal, Asghar & Kashif, because PAK is not going to take more than one spinner, who should be leggi; therefore I would have called 2 or 3 leggi including Shadab.

Along with Fahim & Talat, I would have called Saud as well (that covers 2nd spinner's role).

Batting is probably what it is there (which is alarming - if Azhar fails, ECB will loose lots of gate money). May be, he is paying for a horror show in PSL, but I would have called Ahmed for the squad at least - his last Test had an innings of 70 on a difficult wicket & he did put 150+ for 1st wicket. Once again PCB is punishing player for failure in another format. Officially Rizwan is 25, so he should have 10-12 years left; hence Uamir has to wait.

Rest is excellent - 8 out of 10 for me.
 
I think Wahab should be there in the test probables. Or have the selectors moved on from him. His extra pace troubled the English the most last time they toured and as long he can ramp it up even now , he should atleast be in the final 15. Also I'd have thought Zafar would be ideal to replace Yasir.
 
Not sure what the furore is about Wahab's non selection.

I'd play him if we were playing at Old Trafford or The Oval where the pitches have pace and bounce.

But in early season in England you need line and length seamers who can bowl with discipline, control and accuracy - not Wahab's strong suits as people should've noticed after 7 years.

The names look fine, hope the selectors pick Fawad in the final squad as we need middle order solidity and because of his impressive fitness result even at the age of 32.
 
Nikhil_cric said:
I think Wahab should be there in the test probables. Or have the selectors moved on from him. His extra pace troubled the English the most last time they toured and as long he can ramp it up even now , he should atleast be in the final 15. Also I'd have thought Zafar would be ideal to replace Yasir.
Click to expand...

Pace has no effect on green May-time English pitches. Especially, since there is no reverse.
 
Sadaf hussain :((

if Mir hamza bowling at 127-128 can get selected then surely Sadaf hussain 135-137 can get selected with height of 6'5 also
 
Lol are you serious. No wahab! Man what you smoking! Seriously really so disappointed. And that trundler mir hamza is there. One of the worst I have ever seen.Trundler of highest level.Hopefully england destroy this team. They deserve this.
 
Fit or not no Kamran or Umar Akmal is music to my ears!!:14: I am waiting for a statement from these two all time greats of how they are being discriminated against by the PCB! Other then Yasir and Sohail Khan there seems to be no major absence. I am glad that the Pak tour of the UK ends before the Football World Cup starts.
 
dauntless said:
Lol are you serious. No wahab! Man what you smoking! Seriously really so disappointed. And that trundler mir hamza is there. One of the worst I have ever seen.Trundler of highest level.Hopefully england destroy this team. They deserve this.
Click to expand...


Riaz is of new use in swinging conditions which is what we face this time of year in England
 
I would take the risk with the following team in England.

Fakhar Z
Azhar A
Haris S
Babar A
Asad S
Hussain T
Sarfaraz A
Shadab K
Amir
Hassan / Rahat
Abbas

Firstly we need to make up for Yasir. Unfortunately Shadab is not as reliable in the bowling department but adds strength to the batting. So it makes sense to replace the 6th specialist batsman with a batting all rounder and Talat fits the bill perfectly on potential. A solid batsman with good technique, a smart thinking cricketer and a pace bowling all rounder for English conditions. I think its worth the risk giving him the chance over someone like Fawad or Usman, at least initially.

For the second opener, I really like Sami but we are not going to compete in this series by trying to survive the swing. We need someone who can dominate and change the tempo. Fakhar has shown good hand eye and more importantly top temperament over the past 12 months.

Then if Babar and/or Asad continue to fail we can try the back up batsmen.

Thoughts?
 
Forum363 said:
I would take the risk with the following team in England.

Fakhar Z
Azhar A
Haris S
Babar A
Asad S
Hussain T
Sarfaraz A
Shadab K
Amir
Hassan / Rahat
Abbas

Firstly we need to make up for Yasir. Unfortunately Shadab is not as reliable in the bowling department but adds strength to the batting. So it makes sense to replace the 6th specialist batsman with a batting all rounder and Talat fits the bill perfectly on potential. A solid batsman with good technique, a smart thinking cricketer and a pace bowling all rounder for English conditions. I think its worth the risk giving him the chance over someone like Fawad or Usman, at least initially.

For the second opener, I really like Sami but we are not going to compete in this series by trying to survive the swing. We need someone who can dominate and change the tempo. Fakhar has shown good hand eye and more importantly top temperament over the past 12 months.

Then if Babar and/or Asad continue to fail we can try the back up batsmen.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Just replace FZ with Haris and slot Salahuddin at #5.
 
Forum363 said:
I would take the risk with the following team in England.

Fakhar Z
Azhar A
Haris S
Babar A
Asad S
Hussain T
Sarfaraz A
Shadab K
Amir
Hassan / Rahat
Abbas

Firstly we need to make up for Yasir. Unfortunately Shadab is not as reliable in the bowling department but adds strength to the batting. So it makes sense to replace the 6th specialist batsman with a batting all rounder and Talat fits the bill perfectly on potential. A solid batsman with good technique, a smart thinking cricketer and a pace bowling all rounder for English conditions. I think its worth the risk giving him the chance over someone like Fawad or Usman, at least initially.

For the second opener, I really like Sami but we are not going to compete in this series by trying to survive the swing. We need someone who can dominate and change the tempo. Fakhar has shown good hand eye and more importantly top temperament over the past 12 months.

Then if Babar and/or Asad continue to fail we can try the back up batsmen.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

2 debutants.... 1 guy with 1 test experience... 2 guys with 2 test experience.... 1 guy with 5 test experience.... add to that constantly flopping Azam and Shafiq. Alhumdulilah we really are going to do well.
 
Gohar's omission is understandable as he hasn't played much cricket lately.

Mohammad Irfan (leggie) should have been there. Best spinner in the country after Yasir. Should make the playing X1 in Yasir's absence.

Sadaf and Yamin missing too, other than that reasonable selections.
 
Is Junaid Khan injured or is he no longer considered for longer formats?

Why is Usman Khan not considered? Is he also looked upon as a LOI specialist? Fast bowling looks dissapointing to me.

Otherwise the team is good. Nice to see Fakhar in the side, has done nothing wrong since his debut and should be tried out in tests. I hope they play Imam over Sami Aslam.
 
Overall decent. Would've liked to see Zafar Gohar on the list as well.

Is Musa Khan the guy in U19 who was bowling 145kph?
 
Kazim_Pak86 said:
When PSL has become the standard for selection for the likes of Hussain Tallat getting to the Test squad than Farhan or other openers should've been in the camp.
Click to expand...
good reply. This is what I was afraid of that performance in PSL T20s will be a factor in the selection of other formats (ODIs and Tests) and it is happening slowly :facepalm:
 
Forum363 said:
I would take the risk with the following team in England.

Fakhar Z
Azhar A
Haris S
Babar A
Asad S
Hussain T
Sarfaraz A
Shadab K
Amir
Hassan / Rahat
Abbas

Firstly we need to make up for Yasir. Unfortunately Shadab is not as reliable in the bowling department but adds strength to the batting. So it makes sense to replace the 6th specialist batsman with a batting all rounder and Talat fits the bill perfectly on potential. A solid batsman with good technique, a smart thinking cricketer and a pace bowling all rounder for English conditions. I think its worth the risk giving him the chance over someone like Fawad or Usman, at least initially.

For the second opener, I really like Sami but we are not going to compete in this series by trying to survive the swing. We need someone who can dominate and change the tempo. Fakhar has shown good hand eye and more importantly top temperament over the past 12 months.

Then if Babar and/or Asad continue to fail we can try the back up batsmen.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Babar Azam out Fawad Alam in

If you want to play this combination

Otherwise Azhar/Harris/Fawad share spin duties and Get faheem in for Shadab
 
srh said:
good reply. This is what I was afraid of that performance in PSL T20s will be a factor in the selection of other formats (ODIs and Tests) and it is happening slowly :facepalm:
Click to expand...

Its not PSL, pace bowling ARs ae important in England and Faheem and Talat are the only good ones we have ATM
 
Sadaf Hussain and Nawaz not on the list which is disappointing to see. Sadaf could easily be in Rahat's place. What a joke!
 
This would be my XI for upcoming tests:

Fakhar
Azhar
Haris
Shafiq
Fawad
Babar
Sarfaraz
Shadab
Hasan
Amir
Abbas

I am sure Mickey will swap Babar's & Haris's positions but that is our best possible XI from the players named for camp.
 
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