Pakistan squad for Bangladesh Tests announced

Pakistan's test team for Bangladesh was revealed.

• With excellent home performances, Kamran Ghulam, Muhammad Ali, and Muhammad Huraira are called up to the 17-member team, while Saud Shakeel is chosen the new Test vice-captain.
• Bangladesh is scheduled to travel to Islamabad on August 17 in preparation for the ICC World Test Championships, which will take place in Rawalpindi and Karachi from August 21 to August 3.
• Additionally, selectors have confirmed Pakistan Shaheens team for the first four-day encounter against Bangladesh "A"; Saud will captain the side, which contains eight possible Test players; the updated series schedule details will be released soon.

7 August 2024: Lahore

A 17-person Pakistani squad has been announced by the Pakistan Cricket Board's men's national selection committee for the ICC World Test Championship matches against Bangladesh. The first Test match takes place from August 21–25 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, and the second match takes place in Karachi from August 30–September 3.
The training camp for the Pakistan Test team will start on August 11 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, under the direction of assistant coach Azhar Mahmood and head coach Jason Gillespie, who oversee red-ball cricket. The Bangladesh cricket squad is likely to exercise in Islamabad that same afternoon after landing in the early hours of August 17.

Bangladesh vs. Pakistan Squad (ICC World Test Championship)

• 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), and Shaheen Shah Afridi are the captains Shan Masood, Saud Shakeel, and Aamir Jamal (subject to fitness).

Shan Masood will command the 17-member Test team, with Saud Shakeel, a left-handed middle-order batsman, named vice-captain. As part of the selectors' strategic decision, Saud replaces Shaheen Shah Afridi. The objective is to control the workload of Pakistan's top fast bowler during the nine Test matches, fourteen Twenty20 matches, and a minimum of seventeen One-Day Internationals that the country is slated to play between August 21, 2024, and April 5, 2025.

Thirteen of the seventeen players selected for the opening Test series of the 2024–25 season took part in Pakistan’s final series against Australia in December and January of 2023–24. In addition to being rewarded for their steady work for Pakistan Shaheens and the domestic circuit, Muhammad Huraira, Kamran Ghulam, and Muhammad Ali are also making a 13-month comeback to the red ball team.

In the 2023–24 season, Kamran Ghulam amassed 1,025 runs in 11 first-class matches. Last month, in Darwin, he made 148 runs in three innings against Bangladesh 'A,' including 100 not out in the opening game. He did not play in the two-match series that ended in a draw, but he was a member of the team for the home series against New Zealand in December and January of 2022–2023.
After making his only appearance in the first two Test matches against England in 2022, fast bowler Muhammad Ali has been called back. In the 2022–2023 season, he claimed 24 wickets in six first-class matches. In the 2023–2024 season, he claimed 47 wickets in 14 first-class matches. Ali claimed nine wickets in the two four-day games against Bangladesh "A" played in Darwin. Of those, six came at a cost of 63 in the second match's innings.

Huraira scored a brilliant double-century in Darwin last month against Bangladesh "A." He also had a fantastic final two seasons in the first class. Huraira was the only batter to surpass the 1,000-run mark in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2022–23, amassing 1,024 runs in 11 games for Northern. The 22-year-old right-hander made 961 runs in 14 games for the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Faisalabad Region during the 2023–24 first-class season. He was included in the team for the July 2023 visit to Sri Lanka, but he was not used in the series, which Pakistan won 2-0.

The players that were unable to hold onto their spots in the Test side were Imam-ul-Haq, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali (injured), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr. (injured), Noman Ali, and Sajid Khan.
Faheem took one wicket in the Perth Test, Sajid claimed three wickets in the Sydney Test, Nawaz and Noman did not play in either of the Tests, while Imam scored 94 runs in the Melbourne and Perth Tests after managing just 57 runs in the two Tests against Sri Lanka.

TBD: Pakistan Shaheens Squad will play Bangladesh 'A' in their first four-day encounter.

Umar Amin, Saad Baig (wicket-keeper), Saad Khan, Saim Ayub, Sameen Gul, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicket-keeper), Mehran Mumtaz, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rameez Jr., Mohammad Huraira, Naseem Shah, and Saud Shakeel (captain).

The following players provide support: Yasir Malik, a trainer; Dr. Imtiaz Khan, a physiotherapist; Ghulam Ali, a batting coach; Fahad Masood, a fielding coach; Umar Gul, a head coach and manager; and Malang Ali, a masseuse.

Captain Saud Shakeel will guide Pakistan Shaheens against Bangladesh 'A' in the opening match. The squad will also include Saim Ayub, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mir Hamza, Kamran Ghulam, and Sarfaraz Ahmed from the test team.

The four-day training camp for the Pakistan Shaheens, led by head coach Umar Gul, will get underway at the Islamabad Club on Wednesday afternoon. Jason Gillespie and Azhar Mahmood will assist Umar Gul on August 11 before turning their attention to the national team's training camp.

The selectors will declare the eight Test probables' replacements in the Pakistan Shaheens team for the remaining matches against Bangladesh 'A' after the four-day encounter.

The Pakistan Shaheens versus Bangladesh "A" series is set to have a new schedule soon, as the PCB has been in communication with the Bangladesh Cricket Board.