Key Pakistan paceman ruled out of Test series

PAKISTAN paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi will not be fit to face England in next month’s Test series, having undergone appendix surgery over the weekend, writes Rory Dollard.

The left-arm seamer injured his right knee during the T20 World Cup final against Jos Buttler’s England side but still looked to have a chance of playing a part in the three-Test tour in December.

However, the 22-year-old’s name was absent from an 18-strong group assembled by the Pakistan Cricket Board, due an unexpected bout of appendicitis. He will now need to rest for up to a month before completing rehabilitation on his knee.

Uncapped Mohammad Ali has been called up in his place, with mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Wasim Jnr and Zahid Mehmood completing a quartet of new faces. Hasan Ali, who played for Lancashire earlier this year, veteran batter Fawad Alam and leg-spinner Yasir Shah have been dropped from the squad that faced Sri Lanka.

Abrar comes in on the back of some stirring performances in the first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, taking five five-wicket hauls in six matches with 43 scalps at 21.95. Mohammad Ali, meanwhile, has been the country’s most prolific domestic pace bowler over the past two seasons.

Chief selector Muhammad Wasim said: “Abrar has been on the radar since his debut first-class season in 2020-21. He is in outstanding form, so it makes sense to make him available. Mohammad Ali has been our best fast bowler in the Trophy with 56 wickets at an average of 24 over the last two seasons.”