Pakistan recalled Haris Sohail, Imad Wasim, Naseem Shah and Mohammad Abbas in different squads for the upcoming tour of England and West Indies besides including former skipper Moin Khan’s son Azam Khan for the first time.
The 22-year-old hard hitting batsman, Azam was the surprise call in the T20I team as he has featured in one First Class match besides playing 15 List A and 36 T20 games.
But his six hitting ability and impressive strike rate (157.41 in T20s) caught attention of the selectors and he was rewarded with the place for his performance in domestic circuit.
“We have remained consistent in our selection and kept the same core of cricketers who have been in the set-up for a while. The upcoming tour is an extremely important and critical tour for Pakistan and we have tried our best to maintain the winning combinations but at the same time recalled four experienced players and rewarded uncapped Azam Khan for his domestic performance,” chief selector Mohammad Wasim said.
While pacer Abbas and Naseem were included in the Test team for two matches against Windies, Imad regained T20I spot and Sohail was in ODI squad for three matches against England.
The selectors have also included Yasir Shah for the Tests but his final selection will depend on the fitness test as he is yet to fully recover from a knee injury.
Pakistan will play three ODIs and as many T20Is in England from July 8-20, followed by five T20s and two Tests against the West Indies.