The national selection committee on Wednesday announced a 17-member Pakistan squad for the two-match Test series against Bangladesh.
The first of the two Tests, part of ICC World Test Championship fixtures, will be played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from August 21 to 25, while the second Test will be held from August 30 to September 3 in Karachi.
Shan Masood will lead the national squad with Saud Shakeel as his second-in-command. Saud takes over from Shaheen Afridi.
The highlight of the squad is Naseem Shah’s return to the national fold after 13 long months. He sustained a shoulder injury during the Asia Cup 2023 and had to miss the ODI World Cup and Test series against Australia.
Imam-ul-Haq, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali (injured), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr (injured), Noman Ali and Sajid Khan were the players who failed to retain their places in the Test side.
The squad includes Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicket-keeper) and Shaheen Shah Afridi. The inclusion of Aamer Jamal is subject to fitness.
The Pakistan Test side’s training camp will commence at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on August 11 and will be supervised by red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie and assistant coach Azhar Mahmood.
The Bangladesh cricket team is scheduled to arrive in Islamabad in the wee hours of 17 August and is expected to train in the same afternoon.
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