LAHORE - Pakistan cricket captain Sarfraz Ahmed said Saturday he had high hopes for his young and inexperienced side on their tough twin tours of Ireland and England starting this month.

The 16-member squad flies early Monday and after two side games against county teams in England will play a one-off Test against Ireland at Dublin May 11-15. They then face a formidable England side in two Tests at Lord's (May 24-28) and Leeds (June 1-5).

A day before departing for a daunting tour to the British Isles, Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed brushed aside criticism over the non-selection of Fawad Alam and emphasised that the 16-man squad selected for the tour is the "best of the best".

Pakistan have picked a fairly young Test squad, with five uncapped players: Fakhar Zaman, Faheem Ashraf, Imam ul Haq and Usman Salahuddin. While Alam's exclusion caused widespread debate in Pakistan, the team continued to train in Lahore as per normal, undergoing extensive drills in preparation for the tour.

"There is no pressure, but there is a will to form a squad with the best players," Sarfraz said. "Invariably, a few will get left out, and only 16 make the squad, but there is nothing to worry. There is no problem for those who are not selected this time around, and it's not like they will never be picked again. My hopes are very high and I am optimistic with these new boys. The best thing about them is that they are willing to perform on the big stage.”

"Fawad was called among the probables with an intent to consider him for the national selection. We have seen him in the nets and then considered everything before we picked the squad. It's not like I voted him out; if it was in my hands, I would have picked all 25 players for the tour.”

He dismissed the rumours that Fawad Alam had not been picked on the bases of his playing techniques or any other managerial issues. “This is completely untrue that Fawad was not picked up on the bases of techniques, management issue or any other fault in him."

“We have four selectors, a coach and a captain. Whenever a squad is being formed everyone offers their opinion and then the final side is picked with mutual understanding and cooperation. Squads aren't selected unilaterally or without consultation — it doesn't work that way. Sure, there is always a difference of opinion but it doesn't mean that someone (Inzamam) was against someone's (Alam) inclusion," he added.

Sarfraz, however, made it clear that the door to the national team is not closed for Alam or anyone, saying that in future tournaments whoever performs well will make the cut.

Sarfraz said his players were eager to do well. "Our hopes are very high and I am very optimistic with these new boys," he said after a short training camp. "The best thing about these players is that they are willing to perform well at the bigger platform."

This is Pakistan's first visit to England for a Test series since 2016, when they drew 2-2 to become the top-ranked Test side. This will also be Sarfraz's first away Test series as captain, and the first one in years without the retired Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan.

His first series as captain was in the UAE against Sri Lanka, where they slumped to a 2-0 defeat, their only Test series loss since relocating there in 2009. Sarfraz, while wary of the challenge ahead of him, was fully confident about this new side doing well in English condition.

"Whenever there is a tour of England the conditions are considered as tough. On our previous tour in 2016 we played matches in June but this year we are starting a bit earlier so obviously it will be difficult. We are obviously missing our two senior players and we have an inexperienced side," said Sarfraz of his team.

Openers Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq, batsman Usman Salahuddin and allrounder Faheem Ashraf have featured in limited over matches but not in the five-day format.

"On our previous tour in 2016, we played matches in July, but this year we are starting a bit earlier, so obviously it will be difficult to some extent. But we are working hard to give these boys as much confidence as possible and prepare ourselves. We have two practice games and we have prepared well here [in Lahore]. The way our batsman and bowlers are doing their hard work to enhance their skills, I believe this is going to get us good results."

Middle-order batsman Saad Ali is picked for the national team for the first time after notching 957 runs -- the most in the last domestic season. Pakistan will miss ace leg-spinner Yasir Shah, ruled out of the tours with a hip injury.

"If Yasir was fit, he would have been an automatic selection," said Sarfraz. "But we got four spinners in the camp and found Shadab is the best replacement. He has a good solid googly and a great stock delivery, so this is why we preferred him. But considering the condition there in England we are hearing the weather will be much cooler, and I am not even sure if we are going to play a spinner in the XI. We might go with our non-regular spinners Haris Sohail and Asad Shafiq as part-time spin options."

While Ireland are playing their inaugural Test after being accorded the status just last year, Sarfraz said they would also be tough opponents. "They are a strong team with most of their players regularly playing in county cricket in England, so I am expecting a good competitive match against them."