Misbah wins toss again, Pakistan bat in Sharjah

Playing in their adopted home, Pakistan welcomed Azhar Ali back in the squad after the batsman had missed the first two tests due to injury and bereavement. Shan Masood sits out.

Rahat Ali replaced fellow paceman Imran Khan, who missed out after splitting the webbing of his bowling hand in practice.

Trailing 1-0 in the series, England also effected two changes, bringing in Samit Patel and James Taylor. Neither of them has played a test since 2012.

Jonny Bairstow took over keeping duties from a struggling Jos Buttler, who was replaced by Taylor.

Patel's inclusion bolsters the visitors' slow bowling department which also includes Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali.

Teams:

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali, Shoaib Malik, Younus Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Zulfiqar Babar, Yasir Shah, Rahat Ali

England: Alastair Cook (captain), Moeen Ali, Ian Bell, Joe Root, James Taylor, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Samit Patel, Adil Rashid, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)