Pakistan selectors recall spinner Abrar for final Test vs Bangladesh

By Special Correspondent

 LAHORE: Pakistan selectors recalled leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed on Wednesday for the second and final Test against Bangladesh after their decision to play an all-pace attack on a slow track backfired in the series opener in Rawalpindi last week. Pakistan succumbed to their first ever Test defeat against Bangladesh on Sunday after fielding an attack, which did not contain a single frontline spinner. On a slow track, their pacers toiled with little success, while spinners Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz shared seven wickets between them as they bowled Bangladesh to a memorable 10-wicket victory. It was a decision the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi called “possibly a mistake”, but skipper Shan Masood and assistant coach Azhar Mahmood maintained that the decision had been made after looking at conditions.

Abrar, who has 38 wickets from six Tests, has been added to the squad along with uncapped spin bowling all-rounder Kamran Ghulam. All-rounder Aamer Jamal has also been recalled but his participation was subject to fitness clearance, the PCB said in a statement. The final Test, also in Rawalpindi, begins on Friday. Shaheen Shah Afridi, who left the side after the first Test following the birth of his son, also rejoins Masood’s side. In similar conditions on the same ground, though, Abar’s involvement now looks significantly likelier. He took four wickets in the A game against Bangladesh A, and is currently Pakistan’s frontline red-ball spinner with no serious competition. Ghulam has now been on the fringes of the Pakistan red-ball side for several years and scored an unbeaten 100 in Darwin with Pakistan A last month, and 20 not out and 34 in the two A games against Bangladesh in Islamabad. With Pakistan’s top order struggling, he comes into the frame as a potential option.

Pakistan squad:

Shan Masood (capt), Saud Shakeel, Aamir Jamal (subject to fitness), Abrar Ahmed, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk) and Shaheen Shah Afridi.