Hope the injury with Gul isn't too serious. Hes the only one of our good pace bowlers who has played internationals in a while, and if he misses more than one Test it could be a big setback to his career with so many other fast bowlers in contention.
The whole Shoaib thing is hilarious too. Hes been playing domestic cricket for a while now, and before the tour they said he wasn't match fit. Now in a couple days time they select him as "cover" for Gul. Why would you select someone you didn't even consider match fit a few days ago as cover for an injured player? If you consider him match fit, how the hell has he been able to prove that during the last few days, when he couldn't prove that in his domestic stint? Also, if Gul is considered fit to play in the first Test, then will they play Shoaib? If hes match-fit, theres no excuse for not doing so. This is all such a ridicululous farce.
Also, I don't quite undertand why Pakistan haven't brought in any batsmen or allrounders in, considering they've just lost their best batsman and their only allrounder on this tour. I would think that this would be the perfect time to bring in Afridi to replace Malik. If he can score in this situation in difficult conditions, and with a considerable amount of pressure on him, I would think that he would be capable to play for Pakistan at this level. If he struggles, then it might be a good indication that he doesn't have what it takes to be successful in this form of the game.
