Pakistan's tour of England begins with the three-match Test series, first of which will be played at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground at Manchester from August 05. The Pakistan team has been in England for close to a month and are preparing for the series. Ahead of the series, the visitors have named a 20-man squad for the Test series. Wahab Riaz, who was originally picked for T20Is, has been included for the Tests as well despite him having retired from the longer format. Meanwhile, we take a look at possible Pakistan playing XI for the first Test. Pakistan vs England Test Series 2020: We Need Tail to Bat Well for Winning Series, Says Batting Coach Younis Khan.

Pakistan management will look to give a long run to opening pair of Shan Masood and Abid Ali, which means Imam-ul-Haq will miss out. Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Babar Azam will form the settled middle-order. Fawad Alam is likely to make a come-back, and he will feature in the middle-order too. 

Pakistan have named Sarfaraz Ahmed as second wicket-keeper in the squad, but Mohammad Rizwan is set to get a place in the final XI. Pakistan could drop spinner Yasir Shah and play all-rounder Shadab Khan to extend their batting line-up. Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Abbas and Naseem Shah will form the pace trio.

Pakistan Likely Playing XI for First Test: Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali (c), Babar Azam (vc), Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah.

Pakistan Squad for England Test Series: Azhar Ali (c), Babar Azam (vc), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Imam ul haq, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 29, 2020 06:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).