Pakistan today named an 18-member squad for the home Test series against England, starting from December 1.

Mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed and fast bowler Mohammad Ali have been rewarded for their strong first-class performances with maiden Test call-ups. 

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Uncapped Mohammad Wasim Jnr and Zahid Mehmood, who were part of the Test side for the three Tests against Australia earlier in the year, are the other two players to return to the side.

There have been questions over why left-arm pacer Mir Hamza was not included when Shaheen Afridi is not part of the squad, as he is a like-to-like replacement of the latter.

Mir Hamza has only played four games in the ongoing 2022-23 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and is also not part of the Sindh side for the final round match of the competition. 

As per PCB sources, Mir Hamza's foot is injured and was not considered for selection. While confirming the injury of the 30-year-old, the selection committee can not include an unfit player in the team and performers with full fitness have been prioritized in team selection.

The three Tests are part of the ICC World Test Championship and are scheduled to be played in Rawalpindi (1-5 December), Multan (9-13 December) and Karachi (17-21 December).

Pakistan squad for England Tests: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc & wk), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Zahid Mehmood