New Delhi :Pakistan shall start as overwhelming favorites when they take on West Indies in the first day-night test match to be played on Asian soil at Dubai on Thursday.
Pakistan have struck a purple patch in test cricket after their string of impressive series wins against New Zealand, Sri Lanka and England in recent times. Their recent success in the longer format had catapulted them to the number one spot in test cricket for a brief while before being dethroned by arch-rivals India.
Pakistan are on the verge on creating history as the upcoming test shall be their 400th Test since playing their first in India in 1952. A win will not only cap a historic occasion but will also give Pakistan momentum for their pink-ball Tests in Australia in December.
The first test against West Indies shall be played in Dubai on Thursday and the remaining two Tests will be played in Abu Dhabi (October 21-25) and Sharjah (October 30-November 3).
The squads for the test series have been listed below –
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Azhar Ali, Sami Aslam, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Rahat Ali, Sohail Khan, Imran Khan
West Indies: Jason Holder (captain), Kraigg Brathwaite (vice captain), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Leon Johnson, Alzarri Joseph, Marlon Samuels, Jomel Warrican
Umpires: Richard Illingworth (ENG) and Paul Reiffel (AUS)
Tv umpire: Ian Gould (ENG)
Match referee: Jeff Corwe (NZL)
PTI