Pakistan vs England 2015: Hosts’ likely XI for 3rd Test at Sharjah

Pakistan are currently on top in the three-match Test series against England, having gained a 1-0 lead with a hard-fought 178-run win in the second Test. With an upbeat state of mind, the hosts aim for a series win in the third and final Test at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Amit Banerjee takes a look at the eleven players that skipper Misbah-ul-Haq is likely to announce for the final Test starting on Sunday.

Top-order: Mohammad Hafeez has looked in good touch for the most part in the series so far, having scored 202 runs in four innings at an average of 50, including two half-centuries. The problem for the opener however, is support from the other end, with Shan Masood disappointing with the bat in both the Tests so far.  Therefore, Masood might be replaced by Ahmed Shehzad, who will be waiting for his chance to prove himself as an able Test opener. LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD: Pakistan vs England 2015, 3rd Test at Sharjah

Add Cricket Country as a Preferred Source

One-Day International (ODI) skipper Azhar Ali continues to be unavailable for the series due to a toe infection that he sustained during his Hajj trip, making Shoaib Malik favourite once again to occupy that spot. Malik has been in tremendous form both in ODIs and Tests off-late , having made an emphatic comeback into the five-day format with an powerful knock of 245 in the first innings of the Abu Dhabi Test. He failed to repeat the act in the second game, and will be aiming to prove that the second Test’s failures were a one-off incident. PREVIEW: Pakistan vs England 2015, 3rd Test at Sharjah

Middle-Order: The Pakistan middle-order couldn’t get any stronger with the presence of Younis Khan, Misbah, Asad Shafiq and wicketkeeper- batsman Sarfraz Ahmed. Veterans Younis and Misbah are in terrific form at the moment, both having scored a century each in the series so far and Younis becoming the first Pakistani batsman to cross the 9,000 Test-run mark. While Sarfraz is yet to convert his immense batting potential into runs in this series so far, he has somewhat made it up with some impressive work with the wicketkeeping gloves, especially in England’s first innings of the second Test.

Bowling unit: The Pakistanis are likely to stick to the four bowler combination for the final Test as well. Yasir Shah and Wahab Riaz are obvious selections  as far as the third Test is concerned. Zulfiqar Babar has had a decent run so far, having impressed in the second innings of the Dubai Test with figures of 3 for 53. The hosts were dealt with another blow when Imran Khan, who has so been consistent in his performances so far, was ruled out of the third Test after he split the webbing in his bowling hand during a fielding practice session on Friday.

Pakistan now have the option to choose between Bilal Asif, Junaid Khan and Rahat Ali (who played in the first Test). Chances are that the team management will opt for a pacer, with Junaid Khan being the most likely case after a decent performance in the warm-up fixtures against England.

Overall verdict: Despite benching a couple of talented individuals in both Tests so far, Pakistan are likely to keep most of their winning XI from the second Test intact, with the only confirmed change being the replacement of Imran Khan, and the axing of Shan Masood being quite likely.

Pakistan likely XI: Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Shoaib Malik, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Junaid Khan.

(Amit Banerjee, a reporter at CricketCountry, takes keen interest in photography, travelling, technology, automobiles, food and, of course, cricket. He can be followed on Twitter via his handle @akb287)