Pakistan announce 17-man squad for Bangladesh tests; Shaheen Afridi dropped as vice-captain

The two-match test series between Pakistan and Bangladesh will be played in Rawalpindi and Karachi.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced a 17-member squad for the upcoming home two-match test series against Bangladesh. Star batter Shan Masood will continue to lead the Pakistani side in the upcoming series.

The selectors have dropped their star pacer Shaheen Afridi as the vice-captain and promoted Saud Shakeel as the new deputy to Shan Masood for the upcoming Bangladesh test series.

Afridi has been dropped as the vice-captain as “part of the selectors’ strategic decision” to manage his workload with a busy cricket season impending. Pakistan are scheduled to play nine Tests, 14 T20Is, and, at least, 17 ODIs from August this year to April 2025.

The selection committee has also included fast bowler Naseem Shah in the 17-man squad for the Bangladesh series. Notably, the star speedster played his last test 13 months ago against Sri Lanka.

Apart from Naseem, the PCB have included Aamer Jamal, who was their find during Pakistan’s test tour of Australia earlier this year. However, Jamal needs to prove his fitness to play the Bangladesh test series.

Ahead of the test series, the Pakistan cricket team will assemble in Rawalpindi for a training camp under head coach Jason Gillespie and assistant coach Azhar Mahmood. 

The opening test against Bangladesh will be played from August 21 in Rawalpindi and the second test will be hosted in Karachi from August 30.

Pakistan Test squad for Bangladesh test series:

Shan Masood (capt), 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

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