Fawad Alam, Abid Ali, Nauman Ali, Usman Shinwari And Zafar Gohar Are Likely To Feature During The Test Series Against Sri Lanka

Rumours suggest that Fawad Alam, Abid Ali, Nauman Ali, Usman Shinwari and Zafar Gohar are being seriously considered for the two Test match series against Sri Lanka. So, here is a look at why the inclusion of these cricketers is on the cards.

Read: 3 Reasons Why Azhar Ali Might Lose Captaincy Before Sri Lanka’s Tour To Pakistan

Fawad Alam Ahead Of Iftikhar Ahmed

Pakistan’s batting flopped big time in Australia. The fact that Iftikhar Ahmed was dismissed on more than one occasion by a spinner has left a huge question mark on his ability as a Test player.

Fawad Alam on the other hand has been scoring consistently at the domestic level and hence, the selectors are under massive media and public pressure to select him. Also there is every chance of the experienced Fawad Alam proving himself to be a handful for the Sri Lankan bowlers in home conditions. Therefore, it is understood that the left-handed middle order batsman is one of the favourites to replace Iftikhar during the upcoming series.

Read: Here Is A Look At Why PCB Must Come Out Of Denial To Understand That The Time Is Up For Misbah-ul-Haq, Waqar Younis And Azhar Ali

Abid Ali Ahead Of Imam-ul-Haq

Misbah-ul-Haq has received plenty of criticism from all quarters for different reasons ever since he took over as Pakistan’s head coach cum chief selector. Not playing Abid Ali in Australia then is just another reason because of which Misbah has been censured by the media and fans in Pakistan. Hence, Abid seems all set to debut during the two match rubber and play ahead of Imam-ul-Haq.

Read: Why Mohd. Rizwan Has Taken Over From Sarfaraz Ahmed In The Tests And ODIs But Is Still Likely To Struggle In The T20 Format

Usman Shinwari Ahead Of Naseem Shah

Naseem Shah showed potential during the tour to Australia however, it was also apparent that the teenager’s workload requires to be dealt with carefully. Hence, the 16 year old is not likely to be employed on dead Pakistani pitches.

Usman Shinwari on the other hand has played plenty on international cricket. With Mohd. Abbas out-of-form and Wahab Riaz and Mohd. Amir no longer available for the longest version of the game; Shinwari is likely to feature against the Islanders.

Read: Why Yasir Shah’s Brilliant Hundred Should Not Be Enough To Save His Place In Pakistan’s Test XI Outside Of Asian Conditions

Nauman Ali or Zafar Gohar To Support Yasir Shah

Despite the hundred, Yasir Shah too didn’t have a good series in Australia. Hence, Pakistan needs to enhance its spin bowling options.

Nauman Ali and Zafar Gohar on the other hand are among the top wicket takers in Quaid-e-Azam trophy this year.

Wickets for most part in Pakistan are such that you do need to play two spinners and therefore, the probability of either Nauman or Zafar playing the home series is pretty decent.

So, what do you say? Should Fawad Alam, Abid Ali, Nauman Ali, Usman Shinwari And Zafar Gohar play the home series against Sri Lanka?