The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced its Test squad comprising 16 players and five re-serves for the upcoming home series against Austra-lia.
“Pakistan cricket selectors Wednesday an-nounced 16 players and five reserves for the three Tests against Australia, which will be played in Rawalpindi (4-8 March), Karachi (12-16 March) and Lahore (21-25 March),” a statement issued by the PCB said.
According to PCB, three changes have been made to the national Test squad after the Bangla-desh tour. It said that Haris Rauf, who played in the Test series against South Africa and Zimbabwe in 2021, has re-joined the squad and replaces off-spinner Bilal Asif. Meanwhile, Shan Masood, who last played in the New Zealand Test series in 2020-21, has replaced Abid Ali since he is undergoing rehabilitation after being diagnosed with Acute Coronary Syndrome. Moreover, Yasir Shah has been added to the reserve pool.
The PCB further stated that the Test cricketers who are not playing in the ongoing Pakistan Super League season 7 will gather in Karachi next Wednesday, February 16, to participate in a training camp at National Stadium Karachi.
Test squad
Babar Azam (captain) (Central Punjab)
Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Abdullah Shafique (Central Punjab) Azhar Ali (Central Punjab) Faheem Ashraf (Central Punjab) Fawad Alam (Sindh) Haris Rauf (Northern)
Hasan Ali (Central Punjab) Imam-ul-Haq (Balochistan) Mohammad Nawaz (Northern) Nauman Ali (Northern) Sajid Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Saud Shakeel (Sindh) Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Shan Masood (Balochistan) Zahid Mahmood (Sindh) Reserves
Kamran Ghulam (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Mohammad Abbas (Southern Punjab) Naseem Shah (Southern Punjab) Sarfaraz Ahmed (Sindh) Yasir Shah (Balochistan) ‘Squad comprises best available, in-form players’ Chief selector Muhammad Wasim said that they have opted for consistency for the crucial home series against Australia and made the changes only where necessary.—APP
