Pakistan completes Test squad of 15

Pakistani selectors announced Ahmed Shehzad, Asad Shafiq and Shan Masood as the three remaining players for the upcoming Test series against South Africa in the desert venues of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Pakistan had already announced 12 players for the Test series and announcement of three more players has completed the Test squad.

The Pakistani squad now comprises of three opening batsmen Khurram Manzoor, Ahmed Shehzad and Shan Masood. There are five middle-order batsmen in the team including Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Amin and Asad Shafiq. 

Pakistani team has three pace bowlers Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan and Rahat Ali as well as three spin bowlers including Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman and Zulfiqar Babar. The fifteenth member of the team is wicket keeper Adnan Akmal who is also a useful batsman. There is no all-rounder in the Pakistani team.

Three players in the 15 member Pakistani team have not appeared in a Test match for Pakistan as yet. They include Ahmed Shehzad, Shan Masood and Zulfiqar Babar. The most experienced players in the Pakistani team is Younis Khan who has played 84 Test matches for Pakistan. It is followed by captain Misbah-ul-Haq with an experience of 41 Test matches. Misbah-ul-Haq has captained Pakistan in 22 Test matches and placed at number 6 in the overall list of most experienced Pakistani captains in Test cricket.

Three most important players in the Test team are Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq and Saeed Ajmal. The announced Pakistani team is the most inexperienced team for Pakistan since 1964 with a total tally of only 270 Test matches for the 15 men squad. 

Two of the three players announced today Ahmed Shehzad and Shan Masood have not appeared in any Test match for Pakistan as yet. At least one of the two opening batsmen is expected to make his Test debut in the coming series. However, Ahmed Shehzad has appeared in 27 One Day Internationals and 15 Twenty20 Internationals for Pakistan and is now a regular member of the limited-over version teams of Pakistan. Shan Masood has not represented Pakistan in any format of international cricket as yet.  

The third announced player Asad Shafiq has been playing for Pakistan in recent years and has appeared in 21 Test matches, 43 One Day Internationals and 10 Twenty20 Internationals. However, his selection is being criticized by many experts as he has been out-of-form in recent months and is not scoring enough runs. There are many voices in the country in favor of Sohaib Maqsood, another player who has not made his Test debut as yet but has represented Pakistan in limited-over cricket and impressed by his free flow batting style.

Pakistan and South Africa are playing Test cricket against each other since 1995 and have played 21 Test matches. Pakistan’s record in Test cricket against South Africa is poor and has won only three and lost eleven Test matches while other seven Tests have ended as drawn matches.