Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan cricket selectors, headed by former Test batsman Haroon Rashid, on Saturday named star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi in a 16-member squad for a two-Test series to be played against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka next month. The national outfit also includes batsman Mohammad Huraira and all-rounder Aamer Jamal. It’s a maiden Test call-up for both of them. The selectors did not include Shahnawaz Dahani, Zahid Mahmood and Kamran Ghulam who played a two-match home series against New Zealand in December-January. Afridi, who is currently on 99 Test wickets, last played in the format in July 2022. That was also against Sri Lanka, in Galle, where he sustained a knee injury. He made a comeback at the T20 World Cup in October but hurt his knee again in the final. Earlier this year, he captained Lahore Qalandars to their second successive PSL title. He also featured in the subsequent T20I and ODI series against New Zealand. “I am very excited to be returning to the Pakistan Test side after a year,” Afridi said yesterday. “I dearly missed Test cricket and it was tough for me to be away from this format. After missing our entire home season because of the injury I suffered in Sri Lanka, I am eager to make an impactful comeback in the same country and complete a century of wickets in Test cricket. I want to thank my fans who have provided me support in tough times and I am ready for the challenges ahead.”
Huraira, 21, has been rewarded for his performances in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy: he was the highest run-getter in the previous two seasons. In 24 first-class games, he has 2252 runs at an average of 68.24, with a best of 311 off 343 balls. He was the second-youngest triple-centurion in Pakistan, behind Javed Miandad. Jamal made his Pakistan debut during the T20I series against England last year. In his very first game, he impressed everyone by defending 14 runs in the last over against Moeen Ali and David Willey. He was also the leading wicket-taker among fast bowlers in the 2022-23 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, taking 31 scalps at 29.71. More recently, he picked up five wickets in the only red-ball game he played for Pakistan Shaheens against Zimbabwe Select. He topped the charts in the white-ball series, with 16 strikes in six games at an economy of 6.33.
“The conditions in Sri Lanka largely favour finger spinners — something that we have seen over the years and during Pakistan’s last visit to the island — so we have three such bowlers to go with the mystery spin of Abrar Ahmed,” chief selector Haroon said. “At the same time, we cannot overlook the need for fast bowlers and, as such, we have included four pacers so the captain and team management have ample resources on the tour. We boast a strong batting line-up, which I am confident will do well in the two matches. “The players who have missed out on the selection should not get bogged down as they firmly remain part of our plans. We have an exciting and challenging season ahead of us and they should make the most of the opportunities in domestic cricket and Shaheens’ tours to keep themselves ready.” This series will be Pakistan’s first assignment in the new World Test Championship cycle, which runs from 2023 to 2025. The squad will assemble in Karachi on July 3 for a camp before departing for Sri Lanka on July 9. The itinerary of the tour has not been announced yet.
Pakistan Test squad: Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-capt, wk), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Agha Salman, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood.
Player support personnel: Rehan-ul-Haq (team manager), Grant Bradburn (head coach), Andrew Puttick (batting coach), Morne Morkel (bowling coach), Aftab Khan (fielding coach), Abdul Rehman (assistant coach), Drikus Saaiman (strength and conditioning coach), Cliffe Deacon (physiotherapist), Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi (media and digital content manager), Lt Col Usman Anwari (Retd) (security manager), Talha Ejaz (analyst) and Malang Ali (masseur).