Pakistan pick Haider Ali in 28-man squad for England tour

While Haider Ali impressed in the latest edition of the U19 World Cup and then had some gala time with Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League,  Sohail Khan had last played Test cricket in 2016 and had two five-wicket hauls on Pakistan's tour of England that same year. The Misbah-Ul-Haq-led selection panel has also announced the inclusion of Kashif Bhatti as the other uncapped player in the squad. Bhatti was a part of the squad against Australia and Sri Lanka but failed to make a cut to the playing XI.

Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Imran Khan, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz have all been a part of the side while Bilal Asif, Imran Butt, Musa Khan and Mohammad Nawaz being among the four reserve players in the squad. The reserve players will only be slot in if any player fails the pre-tour Covid-19 test.

"But the main focus of the selectors has been red-ball cricket, which we will play for nearly two months with the T20Is to be played at the backend of the ICC World Test Championship fixtures. The series against England will be challenging as our players have not played any competitive cricket since March, while the home team will come following a series against the West Indies. This means we will have to hit the ground running as soon as we land in England and make the best use of the training sessions and match practice before we enter the first Test."