Which of Misbah-ul-Haq's charges must England tame?
Monday 12 October 2015 12:40, UK
Ahmed Shehzad (batsman)
Opening bat Shehzad bares more than a passing resemblance to Indian sensation Virat Kohli, both facially and through his elegant stroke-play and passion for the game. The right-hander is still relatively fresh to Test cricket, having played just the 11 games thus far compared to 70 ODIs, but he has been a formidable performer for his country in the UAE. Each of Shehzad's three Test hundreds have come in the Emirates, with a best of 176 against New Zealand in December 2014. Still, a lean patch in Sri Lanka recently means he may not enter the England series brimming with confidence.
Younis Khan (batsman)
Only Sri Lankan's Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews plundered more Test runs than Younis in 2014 - from two more matches, I hasten to add - while just Australia's David Warner matched his six tons. The 37-year-old has carried on that form in 2015, with two centuries in his five matches, including a majestic 171 not out in his previous innings to guide Pakistan to a 2-1 series win in Sri Lanka. Younis - who is just 19 runs shy of overtaking Javed Miandad as his nation's leading Test run scorer - also posted three figures the last time he faced England, hitting 127 in Dubai three years ago.
Sarfraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper-batsman)
Sarfraz took time to adjust to Test cricket, amassing just 96 runs in his first nine innings, but has since developed into a middle-order game changer. That was evident in the opening encounter of this summer's series against Sri Lanka when, with Pakistan teetering on 96-5, he biffed an 86-ball 96 to help his side carve out a first-innings lead of 117 and, ultimately, win the match. Sarfraz's unbeaten 78 also dug Misbah's men out of a hole in the third game prior to Younis' monster knock sealing victory, while he is no slouch with the gloves either. England cannot take the Karachi native lightly.
Yasir Shah (leg-spinner)
Saeed Ajmal who? Shah has more than filled the void left by Ajmal in the Pakistan side, collecting 61 wickets in his 10 Tests so far. In fact, he became the fastest man from his country to reach 50 scalps, doing so in his ninth match, one fewer than the great Waqar Younis. Shah's wicket tally in 2015 stands at 34 from five games, including 24 in the aforementioned series in Sri Lanka. To put that into context, Pakistan's next leading marksman was fellow tweaker Zulfiqar Babar with six! Yasir's next job is to bamboozle England the way his predecessor Ajmal did in the 2012 whitewash.
Wahab Riaz (fast bowler)
Left-arm quick Wahab produced one of the most hostile spells of pace bowling in recent memory when peppering Australia's Shane Watson with short balls at the 2015 World Cup but, unfortunately for England, the seamer is beginning to find his feet in Test cricket, too. Wahab - whose 12 Test appearances have been spread over the space of six years - has claimed 12 wickets in four matches in 2015 with Mathews and Sangakkara among his victims. A peculiarity with Wahab, though, is that he has only played one five-day game in the UAE, way back in 2010 against South Africa.
Watch England's first Test against Pakistan, in Abu Dhabi, live from 6.30am on Tuesday on Sky Sports 2. You can also watch without a contract on NOW TV.
