Mohammed Amir has been dropped for the Australian series commencing October 7. The board announced the 17 member squad as Wahab Riaz has also found his name on the list.
Aaron Finch receives maiden Test call-up for Pakistan series
Though rumours regarding dropping Sarfaraz on account of his hectic schedule prevailed, the board squashed them as he is all set to lead the side. Other surprise inclusions would be Bilal Asif, whose name is the third in the list of spinners. With the absence of amir, the responsibility now rests with Hasan Ali and Riaz to lead the pace battery.
It is to be noted that Australia had already named their squad as Finch received his maiden call-up. Yesterday, Mitchell Marsh and Josh Hazelwood have been chosen as joint vice-captains for the side and it will be interesting if they can aide Tim Paine in a rebuilding the camp.
Pakistan had a poor run in the Asia Cup as they were knocked out by Bangladesh in the super four stage. The series can be a competitive one as Australia will try to regain their dominance in whites whereas Pakistan would like to rectify their middle order woes.
Pakistan Test squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (c/wk), Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Shadab Khan, Bilal Asif, Mohammad Abbas, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk).
Pakistan announces Schedule for series against Australia and New Zealand
