Wahab Riaz makes himself available for Test selection in upcoming England tour

Veteran left-arm pacer Wahab Riaz has conveyed to the Pakistan team head coach Misbah-Ul-Haq that he is ready to make a return to Test cricket if his services are required during the England tour. While Mohammad Aamir had announced his retirement from Test cricket last year to focus on white-ball formats, Wahab had taken an indefinite break from red-ball cricket.

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'He will be available to play': Misbah-ul-Haq

"Yes I spoke to Wahab about this and he said if needed, he will be available to play the Test matches in England," Misbah said.  "Hopefully the five weeks training camp and practice games we have in England before the first test will allow all the bowlers to settle down and also get used to new SOPs like not using saliva to shine the ball, avoiding celebrations after taking a wicket, etc.

"It is not easy for a pace bowler in particular to get back into rhythm after three months of not playing cricket or nets at all," Misbah said.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) didn't include Wahab and Aamir in the new central contracts list announced recently.
Misbah said the reason for including 10 pace bowlers and four spinners in the extended squad was that bowlers would require the most time to adjust to the new playing conditions because of the Covid-19 protocols. 

"Hopefully the five weeks training camp and practice games we have in England before the first test will allow all the bowlers to settle down and also get used to new SOPs like not using saliva to shine the ball, avoiding celebrations after taking a wicket etc. Riaz, who has played 27 Tests, last played in a five-day game in October 2018 against Australia in UAE.
Aamir has pulled out of the tour as his wife is expected to give birth to their second child around August but Wahab was named on Friday in the 29-member squad announced for the full tour, starting next month.

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Pakistan tour of England 2020

The 1992 World Cup winners will be touring England for a three-match Test series that will be followed by a three-match T20I series from July 30 to September 2, 2020. Meanwhile, the PCB  also announced that spin legend Mushtaq Ahmed has been named as the bowling coach for the upcoming tour while former captain as well as batting great Younis Khan has been appointed as the batting coach. 

Earlier in the week, the PCB canceled a players’ training camp at the National Cricket Academy due to the increase in cases of COVID-19 in the country. The PCB had said that taking into account the COVID-19 outlook in Pakistan in the coming weeks, the operational and logistical matters as well the observation that keeping players in a safe and secure environment would remain a challenge, which is why the PCB decided not to hold a training camp prior to their departure for England. Instead, the PCB asked ECB to prepare an itinerary which allows the Pakistan team to reach London early in June. The squad was originally scheduled to land in the UK on July 6.

(With PTI Inputs)

(Image Courtesy: AP)