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The highly anticipated test series between Pakistan and Australia is about 3 weeks away. The entire cricket fraternity is excited to witness this amazing competition of red-ball cricket on Pakistani soil. A top-tier side would be playing cricket in Pakistan for the first time since 2009’s unfortunate attack. Australia would be touring Pakistan for the first time since 1998. PCB announced a 21 member test squad today including 5 reserves.
Inclusion of Shan Masood & Haris Rauf in the 16-member Squad
Haris Rauf, who was in the side for South Africa and Zimbabwe Tests in 2021, has returned to replace off-spinner Bilal Asif, while Shan Masood, who last played in New Zealand in the 2020-21 season, has taken over from Abid Ali, who is completing his rehabilitation after being diagnosed with Acute Coronary Syndrome. Yasir Shah has been added to the reserve pool.
Pakistan’s Test Squad
Batters:
- Babar Azam (captain) (Central Punjab)
- Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
- Abdullah Shafique (Central Punjab)
- Azhar Ali (Central Punjab)
- Fawad Alam (Sindh)
- Imam-ul-Haq (Balochistan)
- Saud Shakeel (Sindh)
- Shan Masood (Balochistan)
Bowlers:
- Haris Rauf (Northern)
- Hasan Ali (Central Punjab)
- Nauman Ali (Northern)
- Sajid Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
- Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
- Zahid Mahmood (Sindh)
All Rounders:
- Faheem Ashraf (Central Punjab)
- Mohammad Nawaz (Northern)
Reserves:
- Kamran Ghulam (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
- Mohammad Abbas (Southern Punjab)
- Naseem Shah (Southern Punjab)
- Sarfaraz Ahmed (Sindh)
- Yasir Shah (Balochistan)
Australia’s Test Squad Includes:
Cricket Australia announced a strong 16 member squad a day before PCB announced:
Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner
Chief Selector Mohammad Wasim
“We have opted for consistency for the important home series against Australia and changes have only been made where absolutely necessary. This is to give the boys confidence, reward them for their impressive performances in the longer version of the game in 2021 and continue to build the side for the future.
“These are the best available, most talented and in-form players in the domestic circuit. I am confident they will put up an impressive performance against a formidable Australia side.”
Saqlain Mushtaq & Shaun Tait among the Support Staff
PCB has confirmed Saqlain Mushtaq will continue as head coach for another 12 months, while it also announced the appointments of Shaun Tait as fast bowling coach for 12 months and Mohammad Yousuf as batting coach for the Australia series.
Player Support Personnel: Mansoor Rana (manager), Saqlain Mushtaq (head coach), Shahid Aslam (assistant to head coach), Mohammad Yousuf (batting coach), Shaun Tait (bowling coach), Cliffe Deacon (physiotherapist), Drikus Saaiman (trainer/strength and conditioning coach), Abdul Majeed (fielding coach), Emmad Ahmed Hameed (media and digital manager), Col (retd) Usman Anwari (security manager), Talha Ejaz (analyst) and Malang Ali (masseur).
Pakistan vs Australia Test Series Schedule
7 match tour of Australia against Pakistan will start from Rawalpindi
- 4-8 March – Rawalpindi Test
- 12-16 March – Karachi Test
- 21-25 March – Lahore Test
- 29 March – 1st ODI Rawalpindi
- 31 March – 2nd ODI Rawalpindi
- 2 April – 3rd ODI Rawalpindi
- 5 April – Only T20IRawalpindi
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