Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) today announced the 16-man Pakistan squad that will tour South Africa for three-Test series. The series starts from February 1 with first Test at Johannesburg.
Ehsan Adil gets maiden call from the national team while Haris Sohail is selected in the Test squad for first time in his career. Adnan Akmal has been left out and is replaced by Sarfraz Ahmad, who last played Test Cricket in January 2010 at Hobart – it remains his only Test.
Nasir Jamshed is also selected to play in the whites for first time in his 5-year long international career. Asad Shafiq, missed the India series due to injury, returns in team whereas Abdur Rehman has also made comeback after serving the ban by ECB.
Ayub Dogar and Afaq Raheem, who were part of Pakistan squad in Sri Lanka last year, have been left out. Faisal Iqbal however has been retained. Mohammad Irfan is also selected to play the red-ball cricket for first time.
Mohammad Rizwan, the SNGPL Wicket-keeper from Peshawar, and Tanvir Ahmad, the PQA fast bowler from Karachi, are named in the reserves.
Misbah-ul-Haq will continue to lead the Pakistan Test side for 9th time in a row. Misbah’s first Test series as captain was also against South Africa at UAE 2010. It will be his first Test tour to South Africa.
Openers: Mohammad Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Nasir Jamshed
Middle-order: Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Faisal Iqbal, Haris Sohail
Wicket-keeper: Sarfraz Ahmad
Bowlers: Mohammad Irfan, Umar Gul, Junaid Khan, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman and Ehsan Adil
