Pakistan name 16-men test squad for Sri Lanka tour

Shaheen Shah Afridi has made a comeback in the Pakistan's test side for upcoming 2-match series against Sri Lanka.

With the new World Test Championship cycle 2023-25 will commencing, Pakistan will face Sri Lanka in their first red-ball assignment. Pakistan, who finished seventh on the WTC 2021-23 table, will look to improve their performance this time around and start the next WTC with a series win against Sri Lanka. Both teams are scheduled to play two tests in July.

On Saturday, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced 16-member squad for the two test against Sri Lanka. It was the return of speedster Shaheen Afridi into the test team. The squad also includes two uncapped players. batter Mohammad Huraira and all-rounder Aamir Jamal got their maiden test call in the team. Babar Azam will lead the team while Mohammad Rizwan will be his deputy. The last two-match series in Sri Lanka ended with 1-1.

Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali make return to the Test Squad against Sri Lanka

Apart from Shaheen, veteran pacer Hasan Ali also made his cut into the squad. Notably, he didn't have a great test outing against Sri Lanka on the last tour. Considering the spin conditions in Sri Lanka, the selection committee has picked four spinners in the squad along with four pacers. Uncapped batter Huraira got his maiden call after an impressive domestic season including good performances in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2022-23.

He scored 1024 runs in 11 games at an average of 73.14, including four centuries. Former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed is also in the team. But it will be interesting to see whether he will get chance or not in the presence of vice-captain Rizwan. Speaking about the squad, the Chief selector Haroon Rashid said, "We have devised this squad with the conditions and challenges that our players will encounter in Sri Lanka. This is our first series of the third round of the ICC World Test Championship and this squad is fully capable of providing us a solid start."

On the other hand, the PCB has also appointed former South African pacer Morne Morkel as the team's bowling coach for a period of six months and he will assist the team during Asia Cup and ODI World Cup. The Men in Green will fly to Sri Lanka on July 9, while the schedule for two tests, will be announced shortly.

Pakistan's Test Squad vs SL:

Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc & wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Abdullah Shafique, Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah,Aamir Jamal, Noman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Huraira,  and Shan Masood