LAHORE: Batter Salman Ali Agha made a comeback to Test duty as Pakistan cricket selectors on Saturday picked a 14-member squad, largely comprising youngsters, for the home series against Sri Lanka starting next month.
The series, which is part of the ICC World Test Championship, will be held in Rawalpindi and Lahore from Nov 9 to 21.
Salman along with senior player Mohammad Rizwan and five others were withdrawn by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) ahead of the third Test in England earlier this year in a highly unusual call that amazed the cricketing circles in Pakistan. The 32-year-old Salman scored a match-winning century against Sri Lanka in the ongoing ODI tri-series in Rawalpindi.
However, senior players including former skipper Shan Masood, wicket-keeper/batter Rizwan and openers Imam-ul-Haq and Saim Ayub were omitted for the series. Rizwan and Imam, both of whom were questioned by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) for alleged gambling and betting following their withdrawal from the squad in England, were allowed by the PCB to play in the President’s Trophy Grade-I event recently.
The Test squad also includes three uncapped players -- all-rounder Mohammad Taha and batters Sameer Minhas and Mohammad Suleman.
“Taha is the leading run-scorer in the President’s Trophy Grade-I first-class, which began in September, with 730 runs across seven matches. In the same tournament Suleman (652 runs) sits at No.5 position on the batting charts,” the PCB said in a statement.
“Sameer, playing his maiden first-class season, impressed with 405 runs in seven matches, following a highly promising stint with Pakistan U-19s.”
Interestingly, skipper Babar Azam will have only two experienced batters in Salman and Saud Shakeel in the squad. Similarly, in the fast bowling department Mohammad Abbas is the only experienced campaigner as upcoming Razaullah is another pacer with just one Test to his credit.
The same goes for the spin department which significantly lacks experience and consists of slow left-arm orthodox spin trio of Ali Usman, Arafat Minhas and Taha. Ali, 33, was among the seven players who were withdrawn before the third Test in England.
Arafat’s impressive all-round performance against England in the ongoing ODI tri-nation series in Rawalpindi forced the selectors to consider him for the Test duty as the PCB seeks to give chances to emerging talent.
Moreover, wicket-keeper/batter Saad Baig is also part of the squad and is expected to make his Test debut against Sri Lanka.
Earlier, a number of new faces including Ubaid Shah, Mohammad Ali, Awais Zafar, Aamer Jamal and Khurram Shahzad after getting a few chances, failed to get the selectors’ nod.
Babar, under whose captaincy Pakistan suffered a 3-0 whitewash in England earlier this year, was retained as captain.
The Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium will host the first Test from Nov 9-13 followed by the final match at the Gaddafi Stadium from Nov 17-21.
PCB PATRON’S XI NAMED
Meanwhile, the selectors also announced a 13-member PCB Patron’s XI squad, which will face Sri Lanka in a three-day warm-up at the Islamabad Club from Nov 4-6.
Saad is set to lead the Patron’s XI in the warm-up. From the Test squad, Abdullah, Ali, Azan Awais, Suleman, Taha and Sameer will also be in action in the warm-up.
The pace attack for the Patron’s XI consists of Mohammad Salman, Shoaib Akhtar Jr, Ali Shabbir, Saqib Khan and Ubaid Shah. Batter Mohammad Tayyab Arif will also be part of the squad.
According to the PCB, two members of the Patron’s XI squad, who perform well in the three-day warm-up, will be included in the Test squad for the Sri Lanka series.
Test squad: Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Arafat Minhas, Azan Awais, Mohammad Abbas, Ghazi Ghori (wicket-keeper), Mohammad Suleman, Mohammad Taha, Razaullah, Saad Baig (wicket-keeper), Salman Ali Agha, Sameer Minhas, Saud Shakeel.
Squad for warm-up: Saad Baig (captain), Abdullah Fazal, Ali Shabbir, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Mohammad Salman, Mohammad Suleman, Mohammad Tayyab Arif, Mohammad Taha, Saqib Khan, Sameer Minhas, Shoaib Akhtar Jr, Ubaid Shah.
Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2026
