RAWALPINDI: Zaka Ashraf, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Interim Management Committee chairman, on Friday appreciated the national team ahead of its Test tour to Australia.

During a visit to the Pindi Cricket Stadium where a training camp of the national team is in progress ahead of the three-match series in Australia, Zaka appreciated the performance of star batter and former skipper Babar Azam.

“The entire country is proud of a top-class batter like Babar,” Zaka said during his visit to the stadium.

He also praised the performance of fast bowler and Pakistan’s spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was named the national Twenty20 skipper in place of Babar who stepped down from national captaincy in all formats recently after the team’s disastrous show at the One-day International World Cup in India.

The interim head of the Pakistan Cricket Board also lauded former captain Sarfraz Ahmed, saying that after performing brilliantly on the national domestic circuit, the senior player got selection in Test Squad, which will play three-Test tour Down Under.

Sarfraz-led Karachi Whites won the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy title last month after beating Faisalabad in the final at Lahore.

Zaka also met recently-appointed Test captain Shan Masood at the camp and discussed with him the team’s preparations ahead of the Test series Down Under.

He also held a meeting with team director Mohammad Hafeez and chief selector Wahab Riaz and with other officials.

The head expressed his best wishes for the national team for the upcoming series in Australia.

The Tests will be held in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney in December-January.

Meanwhile, Wahab during his visit to the camp held discussions with the players.

The training camp is underway, where bowling coaches Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal looked busy helping the bowlers in training.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board in a brief statement said that after attending the wedding ceremony of Imam-ul-Haq, Babar, Sarfraz and leg-spinner Usman Qadir returned to the camp.

The press release further said that fast bowler Hasan Ali also joined the camp while off-spinner Sajid Khan, fast bowler Mohammad Ali, Sameen Gul and Ali Shafique have also joined the camp. These four are not part of the Test squad but they have been provided a chance to train with the national team.

Squad: Shan Masood (captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Mohammad Wasim Jr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicket-keeper), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2023