Umar Gul and Junaid Khan. -File photo by Reuters

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeez believes that selectors have got their sums wrong in the pace attack chosen for next month's three-Test series against South Africa.    

Pacemen Umar Gul and Junaid Khan will be assisted by uncapped fast bowlers – 7-foot-1 Mohammad Irfan and Ehsan Adil – in a four-man attack against the No. 1 ranked Proteas.

''I think we are a fast bowler short, but it's a decision of the selection committee,'' Hafeez told reporters on Monday in the southern port city of Karachi.

The squad was announced by selectors last week.

Speaking during the four-day final of Pakistan's premier first-class tournament, the President's Patron's Trophy, Hafeez backed each of the four chosen pacemen.

''Junaid Khan is very good and is improving very fast, and then we have Umar Gul who is very experienced,'' Hafeez said after being dismissed by Gul for just four runs off 28 balls on Monday in the first innings.

''Ehsan Adil is new but I think when you put pressure on a new player he tends to give his best.

''Irfan has also given a good performance in Twenty20 (against India) from where he was selected for the ODIs in India and now for Tests.''

Pakistan has played just six Tests over the last year – three each against England and Sri Lanka – with a break of nearly six months between the two series.

Opinion

Editorial

Reserved seats
Updated 15 May, 2024

Reserved seats

The ECP's decisions and actions clearly need to be reviewed in light of the country’s laws.
Secretive state
15 May, 2024

Secretive state

THERE is a fresh push by the state to stamp out all criticism by using the alibi of protecting national interests....
Plague of rape
15 May, 2024

Plague of rape

FLAWED narratives about women — from being weak and vulnerable to provocative and culpable — have led to...
Privatisation divide
Updated 14 May, 2024

Privatisation divide

How this disagreement within the government will sit with the IMF is anybody’s guess.
AJK protests
14 May, 2024

AJK protests

SINCE last week, Azad Jammu & Kashmir has been roiled by protests, fuelled principally by a disconnect between...
Guns and guards
14 May, 2024

Guns and guards

THERE are some flawed aspects to our society that we must start to fix at the grassroots level. One of these is the...