LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board Men’s National Selection Committee today announced the 17-member Pakistan squad for the ICC World Test Championship match against Bangladesh.
The first Test will be held 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.
The Pakistan Test side’s training camp will begin at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on August 11 and will be overseen by red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie and assistant coach Azhar Mahmood.
The Bangladesh cricket team is scheduled to land in Islamabad in the early hours of August 17 and is expected to train in the afternoon of the same day.
Shan Masood will lead the team while left-handed middle-order batsman Saud Shakeel has been named vice-captain.
“Saud takes over from Shaheen Shah Afridi as part of a strategic decision by the selectors to manage the workload management of Pakistan’s premier fast bowler between 21 August 2024 and 5 April 2025, when Pakistan are scheduled to play nine Tests, 14 T20Is. and at least 17 ODIs,” the PCB said in a press release.
“Of the 17 players selected for the first Test series of the 2024-25 season, 13 players participated in Pakistan’s last series against Australia in December/January 2023-24. Mohammad Huraira, Kamran Ghulam and Mohammad Ali have been rewarded for consistent performances on the domestic circuit as well as for the Pakistan Shaheens, while Naseem Shah returns to the red ball side after 13 months.
“Kamran Ghulam has aggregated 1025 runs in 11 first-class matches in the 2023-24 season and scored 148 runs in three innings against Bangladesh ‘A’ in Darwin last month, including 100 not out in the first match. He was part of the squad for the home series against New Zealand in December/January 2022-23 but did not feature in the drawn two-match series.
“Fast bowler Mohammad Ali has been recalled after making his last appearance in the opening two Tests against England in 2022. He took 24 wickets in six first-class matches in 2022-23, followed by 47 wickets in 14 first-class matches in 2023-24 In two four-day matches against Bangladesh ‘A’ in Darwin, Ali took nine wickets, including six for 63 in the second innings of the second match.
“Huraira scored a scintillating double century against Bangladesh ‘A’ in Darwin last month. He has also had a couple of first-class seasons in recent times. 1,000-run barrier, 1,024 runs in 11 matches for Northern In the 2023-24 first-class season, the 22-year-old right-hander has scored 961 runs in 14 matches for the Faisalabad Region and Higher Education Commission (HEC). He was part of the squad for the tour of Sri Lanka in July 2023 but did not feature in the series which Pakistan won 2–0.
“Imam-ul-Haq, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali (injured), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr (injured), Noman Ali and Sajid Khan were the players who did not retain their places in the Test side.
“Imam managed 57 runs in the two Tests against Sri Lanka and then scored 94 runs in the Perth and Melbourne Tests, Faheem took one wicket in the Perth Test, Sajid took three wickets in the Sydney Test while Nawaz and Noman did not play in the Test. any of the tests.”
Squad: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamir Jamal (subject to fitness), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (goalkeeper) , Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (keeper) and Shaheen Shah Afridi
