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Abbas targets England captain Root

Pakistan paceman makes no secret of his intentions ahead of two-Test series in England

Pakistan paceman Mohammad Abbas has channeled his inner-Glenn McGrath for the upcoming Test series against England, targeting the hosts' captain, Joe Root.

The two sides will fight out a two-Test series at Lord's (May 24) and Headingley (June 1), and Abbas, still a new face to the international arena, believes the visitors have a good chance of upsetting England on their own soil.

"This will be a tough series for us as we will be playing against a top-quality team on their home turf, so it will be important for me to put in my best effort and help my side to victory," Abbas told Sky Sports.

"It is true that any team playing at home is generally considered favourites to win series. But, let's not forget that Pakistan have a great record of beating England at home, so we will do our best to win this series as well."

Root was England's leading run-scorer in their seven Tests in Australia and New Zealand recently, making seven fifties through that period and averaging 43.33.

His career mark at home jumps to 59.46 from 35 Tests, while 10 of his 13 hundreds have been scored in England.

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"Whilst each wicket that I take is important in any series, my plan in this series would be to take the wicket of the England captain Joe Root and then follow it up removing other senior players in the batting line-up," Abbas said.

"I always plan to be the one who takes the wickets of the in-form players as that has the biggest impact on the game and hopefully I will be able to do that in this series as well."

Abbas, 28, has collected 23 wickets at 21.34 in his five-Test career to date, having debuted a year ago against West Indies.

The right-arm quick debuted for Leicestershire last week, picking up 2-32, and hopes to benefit in the Test series from his UK-based preparation.

"I decided to come to England a little earlier, which I hope will allow me to adjust to the conditions and the pitches here," he said.

"Acclimatising to conditions is something which is important for me, as is adjusting to the nature of the pitches in England.

"My idea is to experience bowling in such conditions which will be similar to those I will encounter when I play the Tests series for Pakistan against England in the coming weeks."

Abbas also enjoyed the fruits of working with Pakistan swing-bowling great Wasim Akram during the Pakistan Super League earlier this year, despite not playing a game at Multan.

"I received a lot of very useful advice from Wasim Akram during net practice," he added. "He would give me tips on specific areas such as how to grip the ball and would also give me general advice on why it is important to bowl with patience and not look for shortcuts.

"He also spoke to me about how best to judge conditions and other areas of the game which he felt were important for the success of a bowler in any situation."

Pakistan last toured England in 2016, when the teams played out an entertaining series that finished two-all.