ISLAMABAD: Pakistan cricket team, announced for the Ireland and England tour, will depart on Monday (23 April 2018).
The national team have started its training camp under the supervision of Head coach Micky Arthur at Gaddafi stadium Lahore on Wednesday.
The 16-member team which includes five uncapped players in the test squad practiced on the first day on the training camp.
Pakistan included five uncapped players in the 16-man squad for their Tests with an eye on the World Cup next year. The five include openers Fakhar Zaman, 28, and Imam-ul-Haq, 22. Batsmen Usman Salahuddin and Saad Ali, and allrounder Faheem Ashraf are the other three uncapped members of the squad.
Pakistan suffered a major setback last week when ace leg-spinner Yasir Shah was ruled out of the tour with a hip bone fracture.
Shah was replaced with teenager Shadab Khan, who has only played one Test.
“Yasir’s absence is a big loss for us,” chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq said.
“If we look at his numbers for the last two years, he has more wickets than any other bowler for Pakistan. He was our strike bowler. He played a big part in all the games we won.”
Sarfraz Ahmed, the captain, is the only specialist wicketkeeper in the squad.
Ireland will play their first-ever Test against Pakistan from May 11-15 in Dublin. Pakistan will then play two Tests against England — at Lord’s (May 24-28) and Headingley (June 1-5).
Squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Sami Aslam, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Saad Ali, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Abbas.
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