Pakistan has announced a 17-man squad for their upcoming two-Test home series against Bangladesh. Star speedster Naseem Shah is back in the squad after being sidelined for more than a year. The upcoming Test series marks their first since a defeat in Australia earlier this year.
Pakistan’s new squad saw four changes from the one that visited Australia. Shan Masood remains as captain while Saud Shakeel was named as vice-captain. Kamran Ghulam, fast bowler Mohammad Ali, and batter Muhammad Hurraira have been included in the squad courtesy of their strong performances in domestic cricket and the recent Pakistan Shaheens tour of Australia.
Shakeel has been promoted as the new vice-captain, replacing Shaheen Shah Afridi, to manage the latter’s workload. Aamer Jamal, a standout performer from the Australia tour is included in the squad. However, his availability is doubtful as he has been named in the squad subject to fitness.
Overall, the squad sees seven changes from Pakistan’s last Test series. Imam-ul-Haq is one of the notable omissions from the squad, who was dropped for the final Test in Sydney and replaced by Saim Ayub. Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Nawaz, spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan have also been dropped. Meanwhile, Hasan Ali and Mohammad Wasim, who were part of the Australia tour, are sidelined due to injuries.
Despite these changes, Pakistan is eager to welcome back fast bowler Naseem Shah. Jason Gillespie, the new red-ball head coach, will look to bolster their attack by leveraging both Naseem and Afridi. Additionally, Mohammad Ali who was recalled to the squad for the first time since his debut in December 2022, is one of five specialist fast bowlers in the squad. Meanwhile, the 22-year-old Muhammad Hurraira is expected to open alongside Abdullah Shafique in the upcoming series.
The Pakistan squad will begin training under Gillespie and assistant coach Azhar Mahmood in Rawalpindi on August 11. Meanwhile, the Bangladesh squad will arrive in Islamabad on August 17. The upcoming two-match test series is scheduled to be contested from August 21 to 25 in Rawalpindi and from August 30 to September 3 in Karachi.
Pakistan Test squad for Bangladesh series
Shan Masood (C), Saud Shakeel (vice-capt), Aamer Jamal (subject to fitness), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Hurraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Agha Salman, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi
