The Pakistan Cricket Board’s men’s national selection committee has announced a 17-member squad for the ICC World Test Championship fixtures against Bangladesh. The first Test will be held at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from August 21-25, and the second Test at the National Stadium in Karachi from August 30 to September 3.
The Pakistan Test squad will start their training camp on August 11 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, under the supervision of red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie and assistant coach Azhar Mahmood. The Bangladesh cricket team is expected to arrive in Islamabad in the early hours of August 17 and will train later that day.
Pakistan Squad:
Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain),Aamir Jamal (subject to fitness), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicket-keeper)
Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Shan Masood will lead the team, with Saud Shakeel serving as vice-captain, taking over from Shaheen Shah Afridi to manage the fast bowler’s workload during a busy schedule from August 21, 2024, to April 5, 2025. This period includes nine Tests, 14 T20Is, and at least 17 ODIs for Pakistan.
Of the 17 players selected, 13 were part of Pakistan’s last series against Australia in December/January 2023-24. Mohammad Huraira, Kamran Ghulam, and Mohammad Ali have been included due to their impressive performances in the domestic circuit and for Pakistan Shaheens. Naseem Shah returns to the Test side after a 13-month absence.
Kamran Ghulam scored 1,025 runs in 11 first-class matches in the 2023-24 season and 148 runs in three innings against Bangladesh ‘A’ in Darwin, including an unbeaten century. He was previously in the squad for the home series against New Zealand in December/January 2022-23 but did not play.
Fast bowler Mohammad Ali, last seen in the opening two Tests against England in 2022, has been recalled after taking 24 wickets in six first-class matches in the 2022-23 season and 47 wickets in 14 matches in the 2023-24 season. He also took nine wickets in two four-day matches against Bangladesh ‘A’ in Darwin, including six for 63 in the second innings of the second match.
Mohammad Huraira hit a double-century against Bangladesh ‘A’ in Darwin last month and had strong first-class seasons, scoring 1,024 runs in the 2022-23 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and 961 runs in the 2023-24 season. He was part of the squad for the Sri Lanka tour in July 2023 but did not play.
Imam-ul-Haq, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali (injured), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr (injured), Noman Ali, and Sajid Khan were not retained in the Test side. Imam managed 57 runs in two Tests against Sri Lanka and 94 runs in the Perth and Melbourne Tests. Faheem took one wicket in the Perth Test, Sajid claimed three wickets in the Sydney Test, while Nawaz and Noman did not play in any Tests.
