The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced changes to the national Test squad on Saturday ahead of the upcoming two-match series against Sri Lanka. The board added four players and released two others, with all-rounder Aamer Jamal among those recalled.
The first Test begins on Monday at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The second match is scheduled to start on November 17 at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.
Four players added and two released
Alongside Aamer Jamal, the PCB included Ali Shabbir, Saqib Khan and Muhammad Tayyab Arif. Ali, Saqib and Tayyab have all received their maiden Test call-ups. The three were part of the Pakistan Shaheens squad for a practice match against Sri Lanka.
Ali Usman and Abdullah Fazal were released from the Test squad.
Aamer Jamal’s recent domestic form
Aamer Jamal is a pace-bowling all-rounder who has played nine Tests, three ODIs and six T20Is for Pakistan. He recently earned Player of the Final honours in the President’s Trophy Grade-I. His seven for 32 with the ball, along with 55 runs with the bat, helped turn the match in favour of eventual champions Markhor IT Solutions.
Jamal also captained Lahore Whites in the opening round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Gold. He took three wickets and scored 74 and 23 runs in that round.
Pakistan’s 16-member squad and recent results
The updated squad includes the following players:
- Babar Azam (captain)
- Aamer Jamal
- Ali Shabbir
- Arafat Minhas
- Azan Awais
- Mohammad Abbas
- Mohammad Ghazi Ghori (wk)
- Mohammad Suleman
- Mohammad Taha
- Muhammad Tayyab Arif
- Razaullah
- Saad Baig (wk)
- Salman Ali Agha
- Sameer Minhas
- Saqib Khan
- Saud Shakeel
Earlier in October, Pakistan hosted Sri Lanka for a three-match T20I series and won it 2-1. Pakistan took the first two matches in Rawalpindi by four wickets and 82 runs, before losing the final by eight wickets.
The two sides also met in the ODI tri-series hosted by Pakistan. The hosts beat Sri Lanka by 37 runs in the opening match, then by three wickets in the final at Lahore on October 31 to win the title.
