England head coach Trevor Bayliss has backed his side to thrive against the returning Yasir Shah as England look to kick on from the drawn first Test in Abu Dhabi.
With the tourists nearly forcing victory on the final day as Adil Rashid took a debut Test five-for, the return of Shah, who has taken 61 wickets in just ten Tests, could prove crucial in the outcome of the series.
However, Bayliss believes his batsmen will be out to show they can handle the challenge of the Pakistan leg spinner in subcontinent conditions when the second Test begins on Thursday.
"The way he's bowled over the last couple of years, he is obviously one of their main players," said Bayliss. "The boys want to be the best team in the world. That means you've got to play the best players and he is the best player.
"I'm sure these guys would like to test themselves against any of the best players and come out on top.
"The 'beast' at this level, the egos are right up there - they want to play the best and show the best that they are better than them. I'm sure these guys will be looking forward to pitting themselves against the best.
"Win, lose or draw, they will want to show him they can play him as well as any of these other players."
After the first four days were dominated by batting milestones the game was turned on its head by Rashid’s 5-64 before England just failed to beat the light in their pursuit for victory.
And Bayliss revealed that Rashid’s inclusion came as part of an early conversation with Andrew Strauss after just taking the England job.
"I spoke to Andrew pretty early on, and I think to a certain degree maybe one of the early things he wanted me to do was take them in a bit of a different direction to the last few years,” he said.
"That might be one of them, to get a leg-spinner in there or at least two spinners, so it gives the team different options rather than just four pace bowlers all the time and an orthodox bowler.
"Adil's definitely not a selection for just here. It will come down to whether he is bowling well enough to stay in the team, and it's a lot easier to keep him in the team if you've got Moeen Ali batting in the top six or seven and Ben Stokes in there as well."
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