Pakistan call-up hot prospect Babar Azam for first West Indies Test
Saturday 8 October 2016 15:26, UK
Pakistan have included in-form youngster Babar Azam in their 14-man squad for the first Test against the West Indies, which gets underway on Thursday.
The 21-year-old batsman notched up 360 runs during the one-day series, which the hosts whitewashed 3-0, and will make his Test debut if he gets into the final XI.
Pakistan have also called-up all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz - a left-arm spinner - who would also play his first Test match.
Veteran batsman Younus Khan, however, will miss the first of the three Tests as he continues to recover from dengue fever and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq has dropped misfiring openers Mohammad Hafeez and Shan Masood.
"We felt Azam did very well on the big stage, and is in good form, so we have included him in the team so he could be groomed," Inzamam said.
"We consulted the captain (Misbah-ul-Haq) and coach (Mickey Arthur) and they wanted the same combination which played in the Oval Test (in August), where Azhar Ali and Sami Aslam had opened."
The opening match in Dubai will be an Asian country's first day-night Test with the pink ball, and only the second in Test history.
Australia played the first-ever day-night Test in Adelaide in November last year in an attempt to beef up dwindling crowds for the longest form of the game.
Squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Azhar Ali, Sami Aslam, Asad Shafiq, Babar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, Sarfraz Ahmed, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Amir, Imran Khan, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, Zulfiqar Babar, Rahat Ali
