Pakistan tour of England, 2018 schedule:
Pakistan's squad has arrived in the United Kingdom for their Tests against Ireland and England but are without their bowling spearhead Mohammad Amir.
The prodigious left-armer, who was handed a six-month jail term and five-year ban by the International Cricket Council for spot-fixing in the 2010 Lord's Test against England, is still to depart Pakistan, with his visa for the United Kingdom yet to be granted.
The Pakistan Cricket Board is nonetheless confident Amir will be permitted to join his teammates in London this week.
He also picked up 14 wickets at 13.50 in three County Championship matches for Division One title-winners Essex in 2017.
Presuming he's granted a visa, the 26-year-old is set to lead a Pakistan bowling attack minus star leg-spinner Yasir Shah (injured) and mercurial quick Wahab Riaz (omitted) for their three Tests on the British Isles.
Yasir (19 wickets in four Tests), Amir (12 in four Tests) and Wahab (10 in three Tests) were Pakistan's three leading bowlers on their 2016 tour of England, which saw them claim a famous victory at Lord's in the series opener. On the back of the 2-2 series draw, the Misbah-ul-Haq-led side later briefly clinched the No.1 Test ranking.
Despite Yasir and Wahab's absence for the upcoming tour, assistant coach Azhar Mahmood is confident of Pakistan's bowling stocks.
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