Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan cricket selectors, headed by former Test batsman Mohammad Wasim, on Monday picked domestic performer Kamran Ghulam in a 16-member national squad named for two Tests to be played against Bangladesh in Bangladesh. The Tests will be played in Chittagong (November 26-30) and Dhaka (December 4).This will be Pakistan’s first tour to Bangladesh since 2015 and the two-match series will be the part of the ICC World Test Championship.Kamran scored 1249 runs in the 2020-21 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, which is a national record.Kamran, who hails from Upper Dir in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, surpassed the record of Saadat Ali, who scored 1217 runs during the 1983-84 season of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. He was picked among the players who were part of a training camp ahead of the home Test series against South Africa earlier this year, but wasn’t considered for the final squad of 15, and also ignored for the tours of Zimbabwe and West Indies. But he was kept close to the senior set-up and selected in the Shaheens squad, and he impressed with scores of 58 not out and 45 in the unofficial Tests against Sri Lanka A.

Ace leg-spinner Yasir Shah will miss Pakistan’s two-match Test series in Bangladesh due to a thumb injury.The 35-year-old, who has been a match-winner for Pakistan since 2014, taking 235 wickets in 46 Tests, was injured in September. He is replaced by 36-year-old spinner Bilal Asif, who played the most recent of his five Tests in 2018. Left handed opener Imamul Haq returns after stellar performances in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, where he has racked up 488 runs in five innings, including an unbeaten double-century.Imam played his 11th and most recent Test against Australia in Adelaide in 2019.Pakistan will also play three Twenty20 internationals in Dhaka on November 19, 21 and 22 before the two Tests.

Chief selector Wasim said the squad were selected based on conditions in Bangladesh. “Bangladesh are strong side in their backyard but we have the resources, talent and experience to perform strongly and then carry that momentum into the Australia Tests, which will be in Pakistan next year,” said Wasim in a statement.

With Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz now out of the picture in red-ball cricket, the selectors have looked to build a young fast-bowling attack around Shaheen Shah Afridi, bringing Naseem Shah and Muhammad Musa into the squad and later adding Rauf and Dahani to the larger group. But with Mohammad Abbas, Hasan Ali and the all-rounder Faheem Ashraf all returning after recovering from injury, the management has begun to streamline the pace unit. While Naseem remains in the squad, the selectors have let go of Rauf and Dahani, who will return to Pakistan after the T20I leg of the Bangladesh tour and play in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. Pakistan have plenty of options in the spin department, with off spinner Sajid Khan, left-arm spinner Nauman Ali, legspinner Zahid Mahmood and bowling all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz all in the 20-member squad alongside Bilal. “As we already have four frontline fast bowlers, we have allowed Haris Rauf and Shahnawaz Dahani to return to Pakistan after the T20Is so that they can play in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and prepare for Australia Tests,” concluded Wasim.

Pakistan Test squad:

Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan, Abdullah Shafique, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Bilal Asif, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Hasan Ali, Imamul Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Zahid Mahmood.