[ad_1]
| Venues: Rawalpindi, Multan & Karachi Dates: 1-5, 9-13 & 17-21 December Times: 05:00 GMT |
| Coverage: Live Test Match Special radio and text commentary on each Test on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra & BBC Sport website, plus desktop, tablets, mobiles and app. |
Pakistan have named an 18-man squad for the three-Test series against England next month.
Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi will miss the series after he underwent appendicitis surgery at the weekend.
Fawad Alam, Yasir Shah and Hasan Ali have all dropped out of the squad having been part of the Sri Lanka tour in July earlier this year.
Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed and fast bowler Mohammad Ali have received their maiden Test call-ups.
Ahmed has taken 43 wickets at an average of 21.95 in the domestic tournament and Ali has claimed 56 in the last two domestic seasons.
Uncapped pair Mohammad Wasim and Zahid Mahmood, part of the squad for the three Tests against Australia in March, are the other two players to come in.
Afridi is also recovering from a knee injury he suffered during Pakistan’s defeat by England in the T20 World Cup final earlier this month.
The opening Test in Rawalpindi will be England’s first in Pakistan in 17 years and the three Tests are part of the ICC World Test Championship.
Pakistan squad
Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Ali, Shan Masood, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Nawaz, Nauman Ali, Saud Shakeel, Zahid Mahmood, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed.
