ENGLAND: Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir has been picked for the Test series in England, his first appearance in a Test squad since his return to international cricket after a five-year suspension for spot-fixing in September last year. He had made a comeback to Pakistan’s limited-overs’ squads earlier this year.
With the team set to depart on June 18, the PCB is hopeful that Amir will be granted a visa by next week. His application was also supported by the ECB. There were concerns over Amir being granted a UK visa, after the bowler – along with Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt – was sentenced in a London courtfor his role in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal in the controversial Lord’s Test against England, and was given a six-month jail sentence, half of which he served at the Portland Young Offenders Institution in Dorset.
Legspinner Yasir Shah was picked for his first international series after the end of his doping ban in March. The bowler had missed Pakistan’s tour to New Zealand, the Asia Cup T20 and the World T20 after he was given a three-month suspension by the ICC.
Pakistan will undergo a conditioning camp in Hampshire and will play two tour matches – against Somerset and Sussex – before the first Test at Lord’s, which starts from July 14. They will play another tour match, against Worcestershire, between the second and third Tests at Old Trafford and Edgbaston, respectively. The fourth Test will be played at The Oval from August 11.
Squad: Mohammad Hafeez, Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Younis Khan, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Iftikhar Ahmed, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Zulfiqar Babar, Yasir Shah, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Rahat Ali, Imran Khan, Sohail Khan