Pakistan will be up against the West Indies in a two-match Test series beginning on Thursday (August 12, 2021) in Jamaica.
The visitors had included experienced spinner Yasir Shah, Mohammad Abbas and Naseem Shah in the squad while Agha Salman, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Nawaz and Tabish Khan had missed the bus for the Test fixtures.
Captain Babar Azam has revealed that Nawaz and Rauf were released from the squad so that they can spend some time with their families before rejoining the team for the Afghanistan series.
"Looking at the likely team composition for the two Tests and giving preference to the well-being of the players, it has been agreed to release Haris Rauf and Mohammad Nawaz so that they can return to Pakistan and spend quality time with their families,” Babar said.
“This will also give them a few extra days to relax, regroup and recharge for the commitments ahead, which commence with the series against Afghanistan,” he added.
Talking about the track in Jamaica, the right-handed batsman said that the pitches at the venue are challenging for the batting units.
“Jamaican pitches provide a good challenge to the batters hence our batters need to come to the party and display their true potential and calibre in the two Tests,” he said.
The visiting team had earlier won the four-match T20I series 1-0 after three matches were washed away due to rain.
Pakistan had last visited the West Indies for a Test series back in 2017 and etched a 2-1 win.
Pakistan Test squad: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (vc/wk), Abdullah Shafique, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Hasan Ali, Imran Butt, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Yasir Shah, Zahid Mahmood