Pakistan squad for Bangladesh Tests named

DHAKA (92 News) – National selectors announced the Pakistan men’s cricket team for the two Tests against Bangladesh, which will be played in Chittagong (26-30 November) and Dhaka (4-8 December).

Opener Imamul Haq, middle-order batter Kamran Ghulam and off-spinner Bilal Asif have been named in the 20-player squad, replacing Haris Rauf, Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Dahani and Yasir Shah, who were part of the 21-player side that toured the West Indies in July/August.

Left-handed Imam has been recalled following his stellar performances in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in which he has aggregated 488 runs in five innings of four matches, including an unbeaten double-century. Imam had played his 11th and last Test against Australia in Adelaide in November/December 2019.

Bilal has replaced Yasir Shah who is still recovering from a thumb injury he sustained during the National T20 and is yet to feature in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. The off-spinner has taken 16 wickets in five Tests and has been drafted in the side considering Bangladesh squad includes left-handed batters and also looking ahead to the home Tests against Australia.

Kamran has returned to the side after missing the West Indies tour. He was in the squad for the home series against South Africa after scoring a Quaid-e-Azam Trophy record 1,249 runs in the 2020-21 season. Kamran is presently in Sri Lanka with the Pakistan Shaheens where he scored 58 not out and 45 in two innings of the rain-affected two-match four-day series.

Test squad: Babar Azam (captain, Central Punjab), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Abdullah Shafique (Central Punjab), Abid Ali (Central Punjab), Azhar Ali (Central Punjab), Bilal Asif (Central Punjab), Faheem Ashraf (Central Punjab), Fawad Alam (Sindh), Hasan Ali (Central Punjab), Imamul Haq (Balochistan), Kamran Ghulam (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Abbas (Southern Punjab), Mohammad Nawaz (Northern), Naseem Shah (Southern Punjab), Nauman Ali (Northern), Sajid Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Sindh), Saud Shakeel (Sindh), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Zahid Mahmood (Sindh).