Nawaz excited to play in front of home crowd against England
Rawalpindi will host the first Test between the two teams
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz is eager to play in front of his home crowd in Rawalpindi during the first Test against England, which is set to start on December 1.
Speaking to media at the Islamabad Club on Saturday, Nawaz was excited ahead of the historic three-match series.
"I will represent Pakistan for the very first time at my home ground [Pindi Cricket Stadium]. I'm excited to play in front of my home crowd,” Nawaz said.
"I'm extremely happy with the complete revival of Test cricket since major teams have also started touring Pakistan. This will be a motivation for upcoming generation of cricketers in Pakistan,” he added.
The left-armer also believes that performing in Test cricket proves beneficial in the limited-overs formats.
"I will play as a spin all-rounder in Test cricket as well. My target is to perform in Test cricket because the more you perform in longer version the more it helps to easily play in white-ball formats,” he said.
The England team will arrive in Pakistan on November 27 for the much-anticipated tour, with the first Test set to take place in Rawalpindi from December 1.
This will be the first time England will play a Test in Rawalpindi, which has previously staged 12 matches with the home side winning five and losing three.
The second Test moves to Multan starting on Friday, December 9, and the final Test of the tour will take place at the National Stadium in Karachi, commencing on Saturday, December 17.
Squads
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Zahid Mehmood.
England: Ben Stokes (c), James Anderson, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (wk), Will Jacks, Keaton Jennings, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root and Mark Wood.
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