Shoaib, Mushtaq recalled for 1st Test
Five spinners named in 16-man squad
By M Bilal

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan have recalled leg spinner Mushtaq Ahmed and fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar in a 16-man squad for the first test against England on Nov. 12 in Multan.
The squad, announced on Friday, also includes two other leg spinners, Danish Kaneria and Shahid Afridi, four pace bowlers and middle order batsman Hasan Raza, who last played for Pakistan in November 2002 in Zimbabwe.
Mushtaq, 35, has not played a test for two years after being displaced in the team by Kaneria.
“All the selected players have shown convincing form to be picked for the first test,” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Director Abbas Zaidi told newsmen.
“Mushtaq has been bowling well in England for Sussex and also he showed good form in the camp and in the practice game. The selectors felt it would be good to have someone as experienced as him in the test squad”.
Mushtaq has taken 185 wickets in 52 tests and 161 in 144 one-day matches.
Shoaib, the country’s most experienced pace bowler with 144 test wickets, has not played for Pakistan since January when he was recalled from Australia with a hamstring injury.
Akhtar pulled out of March’s tour of India on fitness grounds and was overlooked by selectors for the trip to the West Indies in May.
He has had problems with the board over disciplinary issues this year but those have been resolved.
All rounder Abdul Razzaq has already been ruled out of the first test with an elbow injury.
Test squad: Inzamam-ul-Haq (Captain), Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Salman Butt, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Asim Kamal, Hasan Raza, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Shabbir Ahmed, Rana Naved, Mushtaq Ahmed, Danish Kaneria, Arshad Khan.