LAHORE: As preparations for the Test tours to England and West Indies intensify, the Pakistan red ball cricketers are engaged in an intensive training camp at the LCCA stadium.

The camp is organized to assess the players’ form and fitness, while the selectors and team management are keeping a close eye on the 22-player squad currently in contention for the national selection.

According to sources, the selectors are expected to start the final counseling from tomorrow, while the preliminary examination framework has already been prepared based on the performances observed during the ongoing camp.

A 17-man squad is likely to be finalized from the current 22-man squad, with the same five-Test squad expected to be announced for both tours.

Significant changes are expected in the squad that featured recently against Bangladesh, with several senior players likely to drop out.

Pacers Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali and Noman Ali will miss out on selection and are not part of the red-ball camp, while new faces are set to be included.

Those under consideration include fast bowlers Muhammad Ali, Obaid Shah and Shahnawaz Dahani.

Reflecting the renewed emphasis on form, fitness and long-term red-ball planning under the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), sources indicate that the final squad will be selected exclusively from the players involved in the ongoing camp.

The team is expected to leave for the West Indies on July 13, where they will play a four-day practice match from July 18.

The series will be held in Trinidad and Tobago from July 25-29 and August 2-6 respectively.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Test tour begins on August 19 at Headingley, Leeds, followed by matches at Lord’s on August 27 and Edgbaston, Birmingham on September 9.

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