LAHORE: With three changes, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Wednesday announced 16-member Test squad for the upcoming home series against Australia starting from March 4.
Haris Rauf, who played in the Test series against South Africa and Zimbabwe in 2021, has re-joined the squad and replaces off-spinner Bilal Asif. Shan Masood, who last played in the New Zealand Test series in 2020-21, has replaced Abid Ali since he is undergoing rehabilitation after being diagnosed with Acute Coronary Syndrome. Yasir Shah has also been added to the reserve pool.
Pakistan will play three Tests against Australia, first in Rawalpindi from March 4 to 8, second in Karachi from March 12 to 16 and third test will be staged in Lahore from March 21 to 25.
The PCB announced that the Test cricketers who are not playing in the ongoing Pakistan Super League season-7 will gather in Karachi next Wednesday (February 16), to participate in a training camp at National Stadium Karachi.
Chief selector Muhammad Wasim said, “We have opted for consistency for the important home series against Australia and changes have only been made where absolutely necessary. This is to give the boys confidence, reward them for their impressive performances in the longer version of the game in 2021 and continue to build the side for the future. These are the best available, most talented and in-form players in the domestic circuit. I am confident they will put up an impressive performance against a formidable Australia side.”
The Pakistan Cricket Board has also confirmed Saqlain Mushtaq will continue as head coach for another 12 months, while it also announced the appointments of Shaun Tait as fast bowling coach for 12 months and Mohammad Yousuf as batting coach for the Australia series.
Test squad: Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imamul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood and Zahid Mahmood.
Reserves: Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Yasir Shah.
Player Support Personnel: Mansoor Rana (manager), Saqlain Mushtaq (head coach), Shahid Aslam (assistant to head coach), Mohammad Yousuf (batting coach), Shaun Tait (bowling coach), Cliffe Deacon (physiotherapist), Drikus Saaiman (trainer/strength and conditioning coach), Abdul Majeed (fielding coach), Emmad Ahmed Hameed (media and digital manager), Col Usman Anwari (retd) (security manager), Talha Ejaz (analyst) and Malang Ali (masseur).
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022