The management committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has finalised its pace attack for the upcoming Test tours of West Indies and England.
The selected fast bowlers are Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Khurram Shehzad and uncapped pacer Ubaid Shah, while Aamer Jamal has been included as the pace-bowling all-rounder.
As a result, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali and Hammad Butt, who were part of the squad for the Bangladesh tour, have been left out.
Twenty-year-old right-arm pacer Ubaid Shah, who hails from Lower Dir, will earn his maiden call-up to the Pakistan Test squad. He has claimed 72 wickets in 16 first-class matches at an average of 25.20. Ubaid is also the younger brother of Pakistan Test fast bowler Naseem Shah.
Veteran seamer Mohammad Abbas is the most experienced fast bowler in the squad. He has taken 110 wickets in 29 Tests at an impressive average of 23.23.
Mohammad Ali will return to the national side after last representing Pakistan in the Rawalpindi Test against Bangladesh in September 2024. The right-arm pacer has taken six wickets in four Tests at an average of 66.67.
Khurram Shehzad, the 26-year-old fast bowler from Mandi Bahauddin, completes the specialist pace attack. He has claimed 28 wickets in seven Tests at an average of 27.39.
Meanwhile, all-rounder Aamer Jamal also returns to the national side. His last Test appearance came against South Africa in Cape Town in January 2025. The Mianwali-born all-rounder has scored 352 runs and taken 21 wickets in eight Tests for Pakistan.
It is pertinent to mention that the Pakistan squad is expected to depart for the West Indies on July 13, where they will play a four-day warm-up match beginning on July 18.
The two-Test series in Trinidad and Tobago is scheduled for July 25-29 and August 2-6.
Pakistan will then travel to England for a three-Test series, which begins at Headingley in Leeds on August 19. The second Test will be played at Lord’s from August 27, while the third and final Test starts at Edgbaston in Birmingham on September 9.