Naseem Shah likely to be fit for third England Test
He missed the second Test due to a shoulder niggle
Pakistan pacer Naseem Shah is likely to be fit for the third Test against England, which begins in Karachi on December 17.
Shah, who missed the second Test due to a shoulder niggle, has resumed bowling practice which indicates that he could be available for the final match of the series.
The young fast-bowler’s availability will be crucial for Pakistan since they are already without the services of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf due to injury.
It must be noted that England were dismissed for 281 in the first innings on the opening day of the second Test.
Pakistan debutant Abrar Ahmed spun a spell over England Friday, grabbing seven wickets.
The 24-year-old — nicknamed "Harry Potter" by friends because he wears glasses similar to those of the fictional boy wizard — produced magic of his own to finish with 7-114.
It was the second-best debut by a Pakistan bowler behind pacer Mohammad Zahid´s 7-66 against New Zealand in Rawalpindi in 1996.
Spinner Zahid Mahmood claimed the last three wickets to finish with 3-63.
Ahmed had taken all five England wickets at lunch with the score at 180-5, becoming only the second man to take five before lunch on the opening day on debut.
West Indian Alf Valentine achieved the feat against England at Manchester in his first Test in 1950.
He is the 13th Pakistan bowler to take five or more wickets in an innings on debut. Ben Duckett (63) and Ollie Pope (60) were the main run scorers in an England innings that finished at the stroke of tea, after skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and decided to bat.
Pakistan are 1-0 down in the three-match series after losing the first Test in Rawalpindi.
England took full advantage of winning the toss — and their batting depth — to win the first Test by 74 runs Monday on a dead wicket that offered nothing to the bowlers.
Rawalpindi yielded 1,768 runs in four innings — the third most in Test history — with seven individual centuries and five fifties.
England are on their first Test tour of Pakistan since 2005, having declined to visit in the interim years on security grounds.
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