LONDON: England have called up spin-bowling all-rounder Samit Patel in place of the injured Zafar Ansari for the Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Wednesday.

Patel, 30, has played five Tests, the last one against India in 2012.

England play three Tests against Pakistan, the first starting in Abu Dhabi from Oct 13.

The uncapped Ansari dislocated his thumb playing for Surrey in a County Championship match last week on the day he was named in the squad for the first time.

“The timing of this injury, on the day his selection was announced, was particularly cruel for Zafar and he is naturally extremely disappointed to have to pull out of the tour,” said national selector James Whitaker in an ECB press release. “The ECB and Surrey medical staff will supervise his rehabilitation closely and we all hope that he will be able to take up his place in the EPP [England Performance Programme] and Lions squads for their trips to UAE later in the year.

“As a left-arm spinner and a middle-order batsman, Samit is a similar type of player to Zafar and his previous international experience, and in particular, experience of performing for England in sub-continental conditions will be an extremely useful asset to the squad in the UAE.”

Ansari saw a hand specialist on Tuesday and underwent an MRI scan. He is due to undergo rehabilitation on his injury and will be re-assessed in around three weeks.

England, who beat Australia 3-2 in this year’s Ashes series, will play three Tests against Pakistan in October and November, followed by four day/night One-day Internationals and three Twenty20 matches.

Revised Test squad: Alastair Cook (captain), Joe Root, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Moeen Ali, Samit Patel, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Mark Wood.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2015

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