Pak all set to play second spinner in Sharjah Test

Pakistan is all set to include left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman as a second specialist slow bowler with Saeed Ajmal after the team's formula of playing three fast bowlers against Sri Lanka didn't click in the first two matches.

Sharjah will host the third test from Thursday and the pitch here has a history of aiding slow bowlers.

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Coach Dave Whatmore said conditions in Sharjah are likely to be different and will probably necessitate a change in the playing eleven.

Absence of injured fast bowler Mohammad Irfan and Rahat Ali have made Pakistani bowlers ineffective against a strong Sri Lanka batting lineup.

Whatmore said the best possible 11 will be selected seeing the pitch conditions, and added that unfortunately Pakistan could not play a second spinner and went in with three fast bowlers.

He said that the wickets in Abu Dhabi and Dubai have not responded to the spinners and didn't agree that Sri Lankan batsmen have read Ajmal very well, stuff.co.nz reports.

Whatmore, who ends his two-year tenure with Pakistan next month, hoped his team will be able to give him a winning send off.