DUBAI: Pakistan and Australia will be face-to-face in their first Test match in Dubai. Misbah-ul-Haq will lead the Test side.
Last week the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced 19-man squad for the two Tests. Uncapped leg-spinner Yasir Shah will replace the suspended Saeed Ajmal.
Shah, 28, was one of the leading wicket-takers in the domestic season last year, with 48 scalps, but had little success in one-dayers or the two Twenty20s he played on the tour of Zimbabwe three years ago.
He has yet to play a Test but chief selector Moin Khan said he expects Shah to deliver.
The second Test will be played in Abu Dhabi on October 30.
Pakistan face a tough challenge to replace Ajmal, who has single-handedly anchored the team’s wins across all three formats over the last five years.
Ajmal’s bowling action was reported as suspect during the Galle Test in Sri Lanka in August. It was subsequently found to be illegal after biomechanic analysis in Australia which led to his suspension.
Left-arm spinners Zulfiqar Babar and Raza Hasan — who both played in the 3-0 one-day series defeat against Australia in the UAE which finished on Sunday — are also in the preliminary squad.
But there was no place for Ajmal’s spinning partner Abdur Rehman, who endured a miserable tour of Sri Lanka where Pakistan lost both Tests in August.
Experienced batsman Younis Khan returns to the Test squad after being dropped for the one-day series against Australia.
Two uncapped paceman, Imran Khan and Ataullah are also in the initial squad.
Ataullah’s bowling action was reported in the national Twenty20 tournament but Khan said his action was cleared after adjustments.
Australia have completed a 3-0 series whitewash against Pakistan.
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