Leg-spinner Yasir Shah was ruled out with back problem as Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat in the first Test against England at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old suffered back spasm after he stumbled over during bowling in the nets on Monday, affecting Pakistan’s plans for the match as they looked to emulate their 3-0 rout of England, also in United Arab Emirates, in 2012.
Pakistan included three pacemen, with Imran Khan taking Shah’s place. Left-armer Zulfiqar Babar is the only specialist spinner in the eleven.
England are also without paceman Steven Finn, ruled out with a foot injury. They included leg-spinner Adil Rashid for his first Test.
The remaining two Tests will be played in Dubai (October 22-26) and in Sharjah (November 1-5).
Teams:
Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Shan Masood, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed, Zulfiqar Babar, Wahab Riaz, Imran Khan, Rahat Ali
England: Alastair Cook (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Mark Wood
Umpires: Bruce Oxenford (AUS) and Paul Reiffel (AUS)
TV umpire: Sundaram Ravi (IND)
Match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)