“Zafar Ansari’s potential excites us “
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
England have included uncapped Surrey all-rounder Zafar Ansari in their Test squad for the upcoming tour of the United Arab Emirates, where they will face Pakistan.
Ansari has enjoyed a stellar season with Surrey, scoring 771 runs, which includes one century, at an average of 36.71. He has also taken 44 wickets at an average of 30.97.
Meanwhile, England have called up uncapped opener Alex Hales as a replacement for Adam Lyth, who has been dropped following a dismal Ashes series. Batsman James Taylor, whose last Test came against South Africa in 2012, has been drafted into the squad as well.
“The challenge we face against Pakistan will be very different and the composition of our squads reflects the conditions we expect to encounter in the UAE,” national selector James Whitaker said. “Zafar Ansari’s potential excites us and he will provide strong competition for Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali in the Test squad after enjoying an excellent domestic season with both bat and ball for Surrey.
“Alex Hales has scored heavily for Nottinghamshire in first-class cricket this season, has shown he can play match-winning innings for England in white ball cricket and fully deserves an opportunity to compete for a place at the top of the order in our Test side.”
In regards to the limited overs series, it has been confirmed that all-rounder Ben Stokes and pace bowler Stuart Broad will not feature in both the ODI and Twenty20 squads, while batsman Joe Root will make a comeback after being rested for the recently concluded ODI series against Australia.
In addition to Root, pace bowler Chris Jordan and left-arm spinner have been recalled for the Twenty20 Internationals.
“In line with our recent decision to rest Joe Root for the one-day series against Australia, we have opted not to include Ben Stokes in our one-day or T20 international squads,” Whitaker said. “Ben has been an outstanding performer for England this summer and this decision reflects a desire to manage his workload across a busy winter period in all three formats of the game. He will come back into contention for the white-ball format when we consider the make-up of our squads for the tour of South Africa later in the year.”