Three leadings players of Quaid e Azam trophy skipped from Pakistani test squad

Pakistan cricket selectors have confirmed a 17-player squad who will beavailable for selection for the first Test against South Africa, which willbegin on Tuesday. The remaining three players will continue to be part ofthe squad and will feature in warm-up and training sessions at the NationalStadium.——————————

The playing line-up with now be finalized by the captain in consultationwith the head coach.

The 17-player squad is:

*Openers* – Abid Ali (Central Punjab) and Imran Butt (Balochistan)

*Middle-order batsmen* – Azhar Ali (Central Punjab), Babar Azam (captain,Central Punjab), Fawad Alam (Sindh), and Saud Shakeel (Sindh)

*All-rounders* – Faheem Ashraf (Central Punjab) and Mohammad Nawaz(Northern)——————————

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*Wicketkeepers* – Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) andSarfaraz Ahmed (Sindh)

*Spinners* – Nauman Ali (Northern), Sajid Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) andYasir Shah (Balochistan)

*Fast bowlers* – Haris Rauf (Northern), Hasan Ali (Central Punjab), ShaheenShah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), and Tabish Khan (Sindh)

Those excluded from the original 20-man squad are Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’sKamran Ghulam, Sindh’s Saud Shakeel, and Southern Punjab’s Agha Salman.