Leg spinner Yasir Shah's injury, which forced him to miss the ongoing first-class clash against CA XI has forced Pakistan to call up 17-year-old left-arm spinner Mohammad Ashgar as the 17th member of their squad for the upcoming Test series against Australia led by Misbah-ul-Haq.
Pakistan had earlier announced their 16-man squad for the Test series against Australia which begins on December 15 but were forced into calling up another member due to extraordinary circumstances. The leg spinner was Pakistan’s primary spin option and the only front-line spinner with all-rounder Mohammad Rizwan providing the back-up.
But faced with the possibility of not having Yasir Shah for the first Test, which is a Day-Night one at Brisbane, the visitors chose to go for an inexperienced but front-line spinner in Mohammad Ashgar for the upcoming series. The visitors are coming on the back of a 2-0 whitewash at the hands of New Zealand, where their batting fragility was exposed once again.
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The 17-member of the squad, the teenager who is yet to play for Pakistan, has earned his call-up on the back of an impressive haul of 13 wickets in two four-day matches for Pakistan A against Zimbabwe A in Bulawayo.
His marathon spell of 72 overs just last week for United Bank Limited in a Quaid-e-Azam trophy also strengthened his case, even if he has played just 17 first-class matches and picked up 68 wickets in his career.
Ashgar’s main claim to fame was his performance in the inaugural edition of the Pakistan Super League in which he was the youngest player and turned out for the Peshawar Zalmi and finished the tournament with 11 wickets at an average of 18.45 and an economy rate of just 6.54.
Sharjeel Khan and Mohammad Rizwan, who were added for the New Zealand series, retained their place, while the leading run-scorer in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Kamran Akmal wasn’t considered for selection. But the injury to their lead spinner has forced them into calling up Ashgar well ahead of schedule. If Ashgar does make his debut, he will become the first Pakistani left-arm spinner to play a Test in Australia since 1990.
Pakistan squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (C), Azhar Ali, Sami Aslam, Sharjeel Khan, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed (WK), Mohammad Rizwan, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Sohail Khan, Imran Khan, Mohammad Ashgar.
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