Pak cricketers off to UK

LAHORE: Pakistan cricket team Monday left for the England and Ireland tour where they will play a Test against Ireland, two Test matches against England and two T20 internationals against Scotland.

Sans fast bowler Mohammad Amir the team took off from Lahore for UK in the wee hours. Amir could not accompany the team as he was unable to get the visa for England. The bowler is expected to fly to England by Wednesday.

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed believes the side is the best possible team. ‘‘We are giving continuous chances to the young players,’’ Sarfraz said and added: ‘‘By travelling to England now, we will allow the players to acclimatise to conditions and the tour matches will help them settle. The team is inexperienced, but we are trying to give it confidence.’’ Pakistan will kick off its tour with a side match against Kent on April 28, followed by a second tour match against Northamptonshire on May 4.

The team will then take on Ireland, who will be playing their first ever Test on May 11 before taking on England in two Test matches on May 24 and June 1. This will be followed by two T20 internationals against Scotland on May 12 and 13. Prior to leaving for the tour, PakistanÆs 16-member squad took part in a training camp at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Sarfraz said he was looking forward to their encounter against Ireland with high hopes from his young team.

The 16-member squad includes five uncapped players Fakhar Zaman, Usman Salahuddin, Saad Ali and Imam-ul-Haq, nephew of former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, provide fresh options in the batting line-up, while Faheem Ashraf, the medium-pacer, shores up the bowling. Yasir Shah, the leg-spinner, misses out with a hip injury, along with the paceman Wahab Riaz. Fawad Alam, the 32-year-old batsman who played the last of his three Tests in 2009, has also been overlooked, despite his good form in domestic cricket.

In Shah’s absence, the spin department will be led by Shadab Khan. The 19-year-old leggie has played just one Test so far, but is ranked No.2 in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Rankings for bowlers.

If Yasir was fit, he would have been an automatic selection, said Ahmed. But we got four spinners in the camp and found Shadab is the best replacement. He has a good, solid googly, and a great stock delivery. But considering the conditions in England, where the weather will be much cooler, I am not sure if we are going to play a spinner in the XI. We might go with our non-regular spinners such as Haris Sohail and Asad Shafiq.