After a disappointing 0-2 whitewash in the recently concluded Test series Australia in Australia, Pakistan have named a 15-man squad for two match series to be played from 11th December at Rawalpindi which will be an historic moment for Pakistani cricket.
Fawad Alam will be returning to the Pakistani Test squad after a gap of 10 years. In the ongoing Quaid-e- Azam- Trophy, the 34-year-old batsman has been in great form scoring 4 centuries playing for Sindh.
Alam has played so far 3 Test matches for Pakistan scoring 250 runs including one century. He played his last match during the 2009 series against New Zealand at Dunedin. In the 3 matches he has played so far; his best Test score has been 168.
With the experienced Alam coming into the batting line up, it will bolster the fragile Pakistani line up which struggled against top quality bowlers like Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon.
Pakistan had a disappointing Australian tour being whitewashed by Australia by 0-2 with one match washed out due to rain. Under the captaincy of Azhar Ali, the inexperienced Pakistani team were steamrolled by Australian team 0-2
It will be a big occasion for Pakistani cricket as Test cricket will be returning to Pakistani shores after a gap of 10 years. In 2009, Sri Lankan team tour was cut short by a terrorist bus attack.
Shan Masood, Imam UL Haq, Abid Ali will be the three openers included in series. Shan Masood had a decent outing in the 2-match series while Imam failed badly at Adelaide. Babar Azam was the best batsman for Pakistan on Australian soil with 1 century and 1 half-century.
In the bowling department, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Imran Khan Sr has been retained from Australian Test series. They included Usman Shinwari to make the bowling more potent.
In September-October, Sri Lanka visited Pakistan for a three match ODI and three match T20I series. The two Test matches will be a part of the ICC Test Championship. Sri Lanka are currently on 60 points drawing the Test series against New Zealand at home 1-1 this August.
Fawad Alam will be returning to the Pakistani Test squad after a gap of 10 years. In the ongoing Quaid-e- Azam- Trophy, the 34-year-old batsman has been in great form scoring 4 centuries playing for Sindh.
Alam has played so far 3 Test matches for Pakistan scoring 250 runs including one century. He played his last match during the 2009 series against New Zealand at Dunedin. In the 3 matches he has played so far; his best Test score has been 168.
With the experienced Alam coming into the batting line up, it will bolster the fragile Pakistani line up which struggled against top quality bowlers like Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon.
Usman Shenwari has been included into the Test squad replacing Musa Khan. The youngster Naseem Shah who bowled 20 overs in the first innings was dropped for the 2nd Test at Adelaide.
The first Test match will be played at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from 11th December and the 2nd Test match would take place from 19th December at the National Cricket Stadium. With 60 points on the line, Pakistan would be looking to open their account while Sri Lanka would look to win the Test series under the new coach Mickey Arthur.
Here we look at the 16 Man squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka
Imam UL Haq, Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali (C), Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Fawad Alam, Mohammad Abbas, Kashif Bhatti, Imran Khan Sr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Shinwari, Yasir Shah,
