No plan to counter Eng: Rashid

Former Captain Rashid Latif on Wednesday expressed serious concerns about the series of injuries to Pakistan players, especially the fast bowlers, ahead of a hectic international cricketing season for the national team.

"Why so many fast bowlers are getting unfit in recent weeks and what is the PCB medical panel and the physios are doing about it," asked Rashid while speaking to The Express Tribune on Wednesday. "Khurram Shehzad, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Naseem Shah, Ihsanullah and so many others are getting repeatedly unfit but no one is really looking at the cause of this." "How can we hope to face tough opposition like England and other teams if so many of our key players are getting injured frequently," said the former wicketkeeper. "Of course, we donot have solid replacements for the top players but the pool of players who are the best available must be kept fit and should receive focused coaching to be prepared for international cricket.

Commenting on the selection of the Pakistan team for the first Test against England, Rashid said it was puzzling to see in-form performers like Kamran Ghulam, Mubasir, Qasim Akram and Mohammad Hasnain being ignored by the national selectors.

"I feel that more serious thought and method should have gone into team selection after the harrowing series loss against Bangladesh," he observed. "But it seems that the selectors themselves are unsure. They are making cosmetic changes and not working at a definite strategy to outthink and outplay one of the strongest teams in the world which is England."

Rashid said unfortunately the selection for the team as well as for the captains seems to be on a 'piecemeal' basis and not on long term basis which is affecting the players' morale and makes them uncertain about their place in the team.

Speaking about the spinners, Rashid said that 37-year-old Noman Ali has been brought back in the Test squad while Abrar Ahmed also features in it. "So will there be two spinners playing or just one?" he questioned. "I feel we can do better if we could give the spinners a major role in the England series. Even Saim Ayub is shaping well as a slow bowler, so the spinners can hold key."

Citing the example of Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin who bamboozled the Bangladesh batsmen in the Chennai Test last week, Rashid said, "We never thought of using spin as a weapon against Bangladesh and continued to exhaust our pacers against them which never really served much purpose," said Rashid, rated by many as the best cricketing brain in the country. "Yes there were some great spells by Khurram and Mir Hamza but they could not sustain their pace and movement and the Bangladesh players got the time to settle down."

Pakistan name squad for first Test against England

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced a 15-player squad for the upcoming first Test of the three-match series against England, scheduled to take place in Multan from October 7-11.

In a significant move, the selected players have been withdrawn from the ongoing Champions One-Day Cup playoffs to ensure they are well-rested and prepared for the upcoming series. The squad will assemble in Multan on September 30, with the training camp commencing on October 1.

Left-arm spinner Noman Ali, who has impressed with 47 wickets in 15 Tests, has replaced fast bowler Khurram Shahzad, who is currently sidelined due to an injury.

While Kamran Ghulam and Mohammad Ali were part of the squad for the recent Bangladesh Tests, the PCB has decided to keep them in the selectors' plans for the England series.

Commenting on the squad selection and the decision to withdraw players from the domestic tournament, Pakistan's red-ball head coach, Jason Gillespie, said: "With a busy domestic and international cricket schedule, it makes sense to give our players some much-needed rest ahead of the Test series against England.

"We are very much looking forward to the series against England here in Pakistan and cannot wait for it to begin. We are excited about playing in front of our wonderful supporters," he added.

Pakistan squad for first Test against England:

Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicket-keeper), and Shaheen Shah Afridi.