Shaheen Shah Afridi is to miss Pakistan’s three-Test series at home to England in December due to appendicitis and rehab on his right knee.
Left-arm quick Shaheen has not been named in Pakistan’s 18-man squad for the series, which includes uncapped leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed and fast bowler Mohammad Ali.
The 22-year-old tweaked his knee taking a catch during the five-wicket defeat to England in the T20 World Cup final at the MCG earlier this month, while he underwent an appendectomy on Sunday.
Pakistan say Shaheen will require three to four weeks’ rest following surgery after which he will resume his two-week rehabilitation on his right knee.
Pakistan’s series against England starts in Rawalpindi on Thursday December 1, before further matches in Multan from December 9 and then Karachi from December 17, with all games live on Sky Sports.
The opening Test, England’s first in Pakistan since 2005, will go ahead in Rawalpindi as planned after political unrest had raised the prospect that game being moved to Karachi.
Leg-spinner Abrar is the leading wicket-taker in 2022-23 Quaid-E-Azam Trophy with 43 wickets in seven games at an average of 21.95, including five five-wicket hauls. Fast bowler Ali, meanwhile, has bagged 24 wickets in six games.
Mohammad Wasim and Zahid Mehmood could also make their Test debuts – they were part of the squad for the three Tests against Australia earlier in the year but did not make an appearance.
Middle-order batter Fawad Alam, seamer Hasan Ali and leg-spinner Yasir Shah have been dropped.
Fawad made scores of 24 and one during his sole appearance in the two-Test series in Sri Lanka in July, while Hasan picked up three wickets at an average of 48.33 in the same series.
Yasir claimed nine wickets in Sri Lanka but has taken only 14 wickets in seven Quaid-e-Azam Trophy matches this season.
Pakistan Test squad for England series: Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Ali, Shan Masood, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Nawaz, Nauman Ali, Saud Shakeel, Zahid Mahmood, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed.
Watch England’s three-Test series in Pakistan live on Sky Sports Cricket. Coverage of the opening game begins at 4.30am on Thursday, December 1 ahead of a 5am start in Rawalpindi.
