Skipper seeks motivation from Pak armed forces :

Balanced team picked for England tour: Sarfraz

By Our correspondent

LAHORE: Feeling the challenges the national team is going to face during their English sojourn, Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed is seeking motivation from the armed forces and for the reason they visited the Wagah Border for inspiration. The conditions in England have always been very challenging, he said and vowed to do whatever it takes to deliver their best.

“Whenever there is a tour of England the conditions are considered as tough. On our previous tour in 2016 we played matches in June but this year we are starting a bit earlier so obviously it will be difficult. “We are obviously missing our two senior players and we have an inexperienced side,” said Sarfraz of his team which has five players awaiting their test debut.

He said the sole purpose to visit the Pakistan-India border was to get some energy and boost. “Boys will raise slogans and enjoy some time there; I am sure this exercise would help them to increase the morale level for upcoming crucial Test series against England,” Sarfraz explained.

The skipper also dismissed the rumours that Fawad Alam had not been picked due to flaws in his playing techniques or any other managerial issues. Talking to media, Sarfraz made it clear that the selection of the 16-member national team is the collective decision of the selection committee, head coach and the captain. He said that only 16 players could have been selected out of 25.

If it was up to him he would have picked all 25 players, who attended the camp, he added. Saturday was the last day of the the training camp and the tyeam will leave for England on April 23. After two side games against county teams in England will play a one-off test against Ireland at Dublin May 11-15. They then face a formidable England side in two tests at Lord’s (May 24-28) and Leeds (June 1-5). To a question on Fawad Alam, the Pakistani skipper also said it was not that a player who had been selected for the current tour, would never be picked again. He also remarked that a balanced team has been selected for the tour of Ireland and England.

He also dismissed the rumours that Fawad Alam had not been picked on the bases of his playing techniques or any other managerial issues.

“This is completely untrue that Fawad was not picked up on the bases of techniques, management issue or any other fault in him”, he added. “Fawad has not played a Test since 2009 but he was called to the camp as one of the probable players who could’ve been selected for the upcoming tour. Just because he was called it does not mean it was a done deal that he would be picked for the team. Since Usman Salahuddin and Saad Ali performed better, hence they were picked,” he explained.

The Pakistani middle order was once again questioned, with the 16 member squad going to England consisting of four opening batsmen and a spinner and a wobbly middle which could turn dangerous for Pakistan against a team such as England. Shahdab Khan being the only spinner in the team could also be a cause for concern.

However, Sarfraz shared that they had called four spinners to the camp, of which Shahdab Khan had been the best.

With the conditions in England being cold, Sarfraz hinted that there was a possibility that they might bench the spinner and instead rely on a non-regular leg-spinner such as Haris Sohail and Asad Shafiq.

The Pakistani captain also added that he was looking forward to their encounter against Ireland who would be playing their first ever Test match.

Pakistan will take on Ireland in a test match on May 11, before playing a two-match test series against England on May 24 and June 1.