DUBAI: The national selection committee, led by Moin Khan, will discuss Pakistan’s squad for the second Test against Australia on day four of the ongoing match.
Pakistan had named a 16-man squad for the first Test which included four openers – Ahmed Shahzad, Muhammad Hafeez, Taufiq Umar and Shaan Masood – as well as skipper Misbahul Haq, Younus Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Haris Sohail, Rahat Ali, Zulfiqar Babar, Muhammad Talha, Eshan Adil and debutants Yasir Shah and Imran Khan.
Pakistan A are currently playing against UAE and the selection committee is monitoring the performance of the players in that series as well, with Saleem Yousuf – one of the selectors — touring as manager of Pakistan A.
Moin has been receiving feedback from Yousuf, while he is also in close contact with the other selectors: Shoaib Muhammad, Ijaz Ahmed and Muhammad Akram.
“We’ll sit down on day four of the first Test to discuss what should be the final squad going into the second Test,” Moin told The Express Tribune. “The selection committee will discuss with the management, coach Waqar Younis and Misbah before making any changes, if any are required, for the second match.”
With Pakistan dominating the first Test so far, chances of any changes being made to the squad are slim but left-arm spinner Raza Hasan is being closely monitored both by team management and selectors, while he is also highly rated by Waqar.
The Australians are having trouble playing against spin as leg-spinner Yasir claimed three wickets in the first innings on his debut, while Zulfiqar Babar took a couple despite an injured right hand.
Even all-rounder Hafeez, not known for being prolific with the ball in the Test format, posed several problems for the Australians and barring any injuries, Raza’s inclusion may be the only change to the squad.
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Drop Hafeez, bring in Harris Sohail.