Pakistan start their tour to England and Ireland with a solitary Test against the latter next month, followed by a two-match series against the former. The squad has been announced which was dissected in this space last week.
What we’ll now look at is the potential starting 11s – who is a shoo-in, who will likely get the nod and which places are still very much up for grabs.
Squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (capt), Azhar Ali, FakharZaman, Sami Aslam, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, AsadShafiq, HarisSohail, Usman Salahuddin, Saad Ali, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Rahat Ali, M Abbas
On paper there are only three players who are absolutely certain of being in the starting 11, fitness permitting.
First of course is the skipper Sarfraz Ahmed, the only recognised wicketkeeper in the squad. He is almost as certain of batting at number seven as he is of being the captain of the side.
Shadab Khan
The other two are Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq; long touted as the ones to take over the gauntlet that was eventually thrown by Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan’s retirement following the triumph in West Indies last year. What is less certain though are their batting positions, which we’ll get to in a bit.
Mohammad Amir and Shadab Khan should feel almost certain of their places as well, but it’s not as straightforward in either case.
Amir, for instance, has largely struggled in Tests since his comeback to international cricket, and mightn’t be selected if his numbers – and numbers alone – were scrutinised for the past couple of years. However, considering that he’s already expressed his intention of eventually cutting short on Tests to prolong limit-overs career, there’s little point in selecting Amir for the tour if you’re not going to be playing him.
Sarfraz Ahmed
Every single player in the starting 11 will have mountains to prove as Pakistan go through a transition in Tests
With Yasir Shah out, Shadab is the designated spinner in the side. However, there’s a chance Pakistan might opt for four pacers and ditch spin altogether, considering they won’t have a proven Test match winner that Yasir was. Shadab has showed glimpses in Test, but needs to be given time to bed in as a frontline Test bowler eventually.
Next in line would be Haris Sohail and Babar Azam. The former was the only consistent batsman for Pakistan in the whitewash against Sri Lanka in October and should have a slot in the middle order. The latter has been struggling for runs in Test cricket, but considering the runs he’s getting in limited-overs format, Pakistan would definitely stick with him – at one down, in all likelihood.
The remaining four slots in the starting 11 are well and truly up for grabs, and it would be a case of what combination the team management is looking for.
Asad Shafiq
Do Pakistan go with Azhar Ali as an opener, where he has had his most prolific stints over the last couple of years? This is especially true considering the fact that none of the other openers have much international experience under their belt – two haven’t played a single Test between them.
But then why go for three specialist openers – Sami Aslam, Imam-ul-Haq and FakharZaman?
With four of the six starting batsmen listed above, the contest for the remaining two slots is between these three openers, and the two other middle-order batsmen: Usman Salahuddin and Saad Ali.
The chances are that Pakistan would go with Azhar Ali and Sami Aslam – who has 13 Tests’ worth of experience – with Babar Azam at three, Asad Shafiq four, Haris Sohail five, and one of Usman Salahuddin and Saad Ali at six, and with Sarfraz Ahmed coming in at seven.
Haris Sohail
If Pakistan go with Amir and Shadab – the latter might get the green signal to give Pakistan the spinning option, even in less conducive conditions – then there are two slots open for the bowlers, which will be contested between Rahat Ali, Muhammad Abbas, Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf.
On paper Pakistan should go with the experienced Rahat and Abbas. But there’s a chance one of Hasan or Faheem might get a look in, considering that they can be explosive with the ball – especially the former – even though the results that they’ve shown thus far have been in limited-overs cricket.
Regardless of who gets picked in the starting 11, what is absolutely sure is that every single one of them would have mountains to prove as Pakistan go through the protracted transition phase as far as Test cricket is concerned.
