Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan cricket selectors, headed by former Test batsman Mohammad Wasim, on Wednesday recalled quick Haris Rauf and opener Shan Masood to a strong 16-member national squad, with five reserves, named for the upcoming home Test series against Australia. Babar Azam will captain the national outfit to face Australia on their first tour of the South Asian nation in nearly a quarter of a century. Australia last toured Pakistan in 1998, declining to visit the cricket-crazed nation in the intervening years on security grounds. Pakistan has struggled to attract foreign teams since a deadly terror attack on the touring Sri Lanka Test side in 2009. With home internationals suspended, Pakistan were forced to play their matches abroad ––– mostly in the United Arab Emirates ––– before normal service was tentatively resumed in 2015. Last year New Zealand prompted outcry when they abruptly cancelled a series in Pakistan, citing security concerns. The setback was compounded when England cancelled their tour shortly afterwards. Pakistan will also play three one-day internationals and a single Twenty20 match against Australia, with squads to be announced later. The players named in the Test squad who are not involved in the ongoing season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) will assemble in National Stadium in Karachi on February 16 for a training camp.

Offspinner Bilal Asif, who was part of the squad for the series against Bangladesh, has been dropped. Rauf, who has played ODIs and T20Is for Pakistan but is uncapped in the longest format, was earlier called up for the Tests against South Africa and Zimbabwe in 2021 but did not debut. Masood meanwhile replaces Abid Ali, who is currently in rehabilitation after being diagnosed with a heart condition in December last year. Ace leg-spinner Yasir Shah has been demoted to reserves for the three-Test series. Yasir has been Pakistan’s prime match winner in recent years, taking 235 wickets in 46 Tests and anchoring Pakistan’s series wins against Australia in 2014 and 2018. Also relegated to the reserves is medium pacer Mohammad Abbas, who took 17 wickets in Pakistan’s 1-0 series win over Australia in the two Tests in 2018.

Chief selector Wasim said the squad had been chosen on the basis of consistency. “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,” Wasim added. Karachi (March 3-7), Rawalpindi (March 12-16), and Lahore (March 21-25) will host the Tests, while Lahore will host the four white-ball matches from March 29 to April 5. The Tests will be part of the ICC World Test Championship, while the ODIs will be part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League, a 13-team competition from which the top seven teams and hosts India will qualify directly for the 2023 event.

Test squad: Babar Azam (captain) (Central Punjab), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Abdullah Shafique (Central Punjab), Azhar Ali (Central Punjab), Faheem Ashraf (Central Punjab), Fawad Alam (Sindh), Haris Rauf (Northern), Hasan Ali (Central Punjab), Imam-ul-Haq (Balochistan), Mohammad Nawaz (Northern), Nauman Ali (Northern), Sajid Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Saud Shakeel (Sindh), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Shan Masood (Balochistan), Zahid Mahmood (Sindh).

Reserves: Kamran Ghulam (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Abbas (Southern Punjab), Naseem Shah (Southern Punjab), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Sindh), Yasir Shah (Balochistan).