Babar Retains Captaincy as Pakistan Picks Taha, Sulaiman, Sameer
Lahore, October 24: Babar Azam will continue to lead Pakistan in Test cricket as the team prepares for a two-match series against Sri Lanka. On Saturday, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced a 14-member squad that includes Mohammad Taha, Mohammad Sulaiman and Sameer Minhas, all of whom are being given their first chance in Test cricket.
The opening Test will be held at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from November 9 to 13. The series will conclude with the second Test at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, scheduled for November 17 to 21. Pakistan enters the series at the bottom of the World Test Championship standings with 4.63 percent, while Sri Lanka is seventh with 33.33 percent.
Before the Test series, a three-day warm-up match will be staged at the Islamabad Club from November 4 to 6. The PCB has said that two more fast bowlers from the PCB Patrons XI will be included in the main squad after the warm-up game.
The three newcomers have built their case through consistent domestic output. Taha, 26, a left-handed batter, is the top run-scorer in the President's Trophy Grade-One first-class competition that began in September. He has made 730 runs in seven matches, with three centuries and a highest score of 225.
Sulaiman, a right-handed batter, is fifth on the same list with 652 runs, including three hundreds. Sameer has scored 405 runs in seven matches in his first first-class season, following earlier success with the Pakistan Under-19 team.
The selection also reflects continuity. Abdullah Fazal, Arafat Minhas, Ajan Awais, Mohammad Abbas, Rajaullah and Saud Shakeel have held on to their places. Mohammad Ghazi Ghori and Saad Baig have been named as wicketkeepers, while Ali Usman, a left-arm spinner, and Salman Ali Agha, a batter, complete the squad.
Saad has been appointed captain of the PCB Patrons XI for the warm-up fixture. The three new batters will play alongside Abdullah, Ali Usman and Ajan in that match. The Patrons XI pace attack comprises Mohammad Salman, Shoaib Akhtar Junior, Ali Shabbir, Saqib Khan and Ubaid Shah, with Mohammad Tayyab Arif also part of the 13-member side.
Pakistan Test squad: Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Arafat Minhas, Ajan Awais, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Sulaiman, Mohammad Taha, Rajaullah, Saad Baig (wicketkeeper), Salman Ali Agha, Sameer Minhas and Saud Shakeel.
PCB Patrons XI: Saad Baig (captain, wicketkeeper), Abdullah Fazal, Ali Shabbir, Ali Usman, Ajan Awais, Mohammad Salman, Mohammad Sulaiman, Mohammad Tayyab Arif, Mohammad Taha, Saqib Khan, Sameer Minhas, Shoaib Akhtar Junior and Ubaid Shah.