Acting Chief Selector Mohammad Ilyas confirmed to PakPassion.net that the Test squad for the huge series versus England in the United Arab Emirates will only be announced after the ongoing Test matches versus Bangladesh are concluded....[Read more]

By Saj Sadiq (9th December, 2011)

Acting Chief Selector Mohammad Ilyas confirmed to PakPassion.net that the Test squad for the huge series versus England in the United Arab Emirates will only be announced after the ongoing Test matches versus Bangladesh are concluded.

"The selection committee will meet after the series in Bangladesh is concluded and then decide upon the squad. The series against England is a huge one and we need to ensure that we select what we believe will be the best group of players to play against England. There is no point in selecting the Test squad yet, we want to make sure that the players in Bangladesh are given every opportunity to impress ahead of the matches against England."

Ilyas responding to a question about just how seriously the Bangladesh series can be taken into account when selecting the squad for the England series stated "We know what most of the Test squad will be, but there could be a couple of spots up for grabs and it remains to be seen how the boys perform in Bangladesh before we finalise the list of names."

Asked for his thoughts on how he feels the series against England will go Ilyas stated "Conditions in England last year were very difficult for the Pakistani batsmen and they struggled against the England bowlers. In the UAE I expect more sporting wickets that will hopefully have something in them for all types of bowlers as well as offer good value to the batsmen."

"I expect the series to be a close one and the standard of cricket should be very high. England are an excellent all round team, but Pakistan are improving and also playing some very good cricket. I do expect spin to play a key part in the series and the spinners could eventually turn out to be the matchwinners from both sides. Rehman and Ajmal are a very impressive pair of spinners for Pakistan and England have a high quality spinner in Graeme Swann and also Panesar is an experienced cricketer."

Ilyas has been acting Chairman of Selectors since previous incumbent Mohsin Khan was asked to take on the role of coach for the series in the UAE against Sri Lanka and the ongoing series in Bangladesh, after Waqar Younis' resignation.

Commenting on the performance of the Pakistan one day side in Bangladesh Ilyas said "It was a mixed bag, some acceptable performances and some less than acceptable. The selection committee will look at the performances in Bangladesh during the three match series and evaluate where we feel we can improve."

The opening Test match between Pakistan and England starts on 17th January in Dubai. The series comprises of three Test matches, four one day internationals and three Twenty20 internationals.