Breaking News: This Pakistan's Fast Bowler Made A Comeback In Test Squad After 1 Year

After a disappointing performance in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, the Shaheens are all set for the longest format of the game against Bangladesh for a 2-match Test series starting from August 21, 2024. This will be the first series that they will be playing after the early exit from the 9th edition of the marquee event, where they have been defeated by debutant team USA in the group stage. For the upcoming test series, the Pakistan Cricket team have picked fast bowler Naseem Shah in the 17-man squad. With this, he will make a return to the Pakistan test team after a long wait of 13 months as he was last seen playing against Sri Lanka.

The Pakistan Cricket Board's national selectors have also named Saud Shakeel as vice-captain for the series. Shakeel was backed up as a leader by taking it from Shaheen Afridi as part of the selectors' 'strategic decision' to manage the lead left-arm pacer's workload in the coming calendar year that has Pakistan featuring in nine Tests, 14 T20Is and 17 ODIs.

Pakistan squad for Bangladesh Tests: 

Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel (vc), Aamer Jamal (subject to Fitness), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi

Apart from Naseem, the Pakistan selectors have gone with fast bowler Aamer Jamal, who was seen during Pakistan's Test tour of Australia earlier this year. However, players like Imam-ul-Haq, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Noman Ali and Sajid Khan failed to make the squad.

Irrespective of senior and experienced players, they have gone with batter Kamran Ghulam, fast bowler Mohammad Ali and batter Mohammad Hurraira as a reward for their performances in domestic cricket.

Pakistan's Test squad will start their camp in Rawalpindi under head coach Jason Gillespie and assistant coach Azhar Mahmood ahead of the series. The two Tests, part of the World Test Championship, will be played in Rawalpindi from August 21 to  August 30, 2024