Four uncapped players – Abdullah Fazal, Amad Butt, Azan Awais and Ghazi Ghori – have been named in Pakistan‘s 16-man contingent for the two-Test series in Bangladesh next month, where former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed will be the head coach.
Of the four, only Ghori has any international experience, having played one ODI, at home in Mirpur against Pakistan last month.
Shan Masood will continue to lead the side, but he has a very different back room to work with. Apart from Sarfaraz, former Test cricketers Asad Shafiq and Umar Gul will work as batting and bowling coaches, respectively.
Sarfaraz, who retired from international cricket last month, won the Champions Trophy in 2017 as Pakistan’s captain and was also mentor/manager of Pakistan Shaheens against England Lions earlier this year. Shafiq played all three formats for Pakistan but was best known for his performances in Test cricket, where he scored 4660 runs in 77 games, with 12 centuries. Gul also played all three formats for Pakistan, adding up to 237 matches, in which he picked up 427 wickets.
Of the squad members, five – Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Ghori, Noman Ali and Sajid Khan – are currently taking part in the ongoing red-ball conditioning camp at Lahore’s National Cricket Academy.
The squad – with the exception of those whose teams remain in contention in PSL 2026 – will take part in a camp in Karachi from April 27, which will conclude on May 1, the PCB said in a statement. The PSL players will join the camp at the conclusion of their teams’ campaigns. The squad will fly to Bangladesh on May 2, and the players whose teams qualify for the PSL final, to be played on May 3, will leave for Bangladesh immediately after.
The two Tests will be played in Dhaka (May 8-12) and Sylhet (May 16-20).
Pakistan squad for the Test series in Bangladesh
Shan Masood (capt), Abdullah Fazal, Amad Butt, Azan Awais, Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
More to follow…
