LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced a 20-member squad including nine uncapped players for the two-test series against South Africa starting from January 26 in Karachi.

The players will enter the bio-secure bubble on January 19 and the squad will be trimmed to 16 players ahead of the first Test. Openers Abdullah Shafique and Imran Butt, middle-order batsman Kamran Ghulam, Salman Ali Agha, and Saudi Shakeel, spinners Nauman Ali Khan and Sajid Khan, and pacers Haris Rauf and Tabish Khan have been rewarded for their stellar performances in the 2020-21 domestic seasons including the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

Hasan Ali has returned to the Test side after two years following a highly successful Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in which he was adjudged player of the final and tournament.

Also returning to the side is left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz, who took 22 wickets with two-fers and scored 744 runs in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. He last played a Test against the West Indies in Sharjah in 2016.

Nawaz and Faheem Ashraf are the two-all-rounders in a side that also includes three openers, six middle-order batsmen, two wicketkeepers, three spinners, and four fast bowlers.

The squad: Abid Ali, Abdullah Shafique, Imran Butt, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (captain), Fawad Alam, Kamran Ghulam, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Yasir Shah, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Tabish Khan.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021