Lately, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have had little to celebrate in Test cricket, but tomorrow the two teams will lock horns in the Rawalpindi Test, where they hope to give fans something to celebrate over five days.
The ongoing World Test Championship has been nothing short of abysmal for Pakistan, who are currently at the bottom of the table with a 4% win percentage. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka arrive on these shores after a spirited performance against India in August.
Pakistan Preview for the Rawalpindi Test
How PCB runs test cricket has been quite funny as of late; Babar Azam was made captain at the start of the summer. Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul were appointed as head coach and bowling coach earlier this year and were sacked within a week and have now been replaced by Mike Hesson and Shaun Tait, respectively.
Abdullah Fazal and Ali Usman, named in the test squad initially, were dropped just two days out from the test. Aamir Jamal returns, and the uncapped pace duo of Ali Shabbir and Saqib Khan were added to the squad along with batter Tayyab Arif.
Players to Watch Out For
How the team combination is set up for the Rawalpindi Test will be interesting to see, with the impressive Sameer Minhas and Tayyab Arif expected to make their debut. Ali Shabbir and Saqib Khan may also don the Pakistan white jersey; eyes will also be on the ever-impressive Razaullah, who burst onto the scene against England in the 3rd Test.
Pakistan will rely heavily on the experience of Babar Azam, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Abbas as the men in green now look forward towards building a better team for the next cycle of the World Test Championship.
Sri Lanka Preview for the Rawalpindi Test
Pakistan’s opponents have also endured a tough run in Test cricket over the last year or so, but they have players who have sporadically impressed, and Sri Lanka will bank on them.
Kusal Mendis was named captain of the Test squad after Dhananjaya De Silva stepped out and decided to focus on his role as a batter only. Sonal Dinusha has taken red-ball cricket by storm, blasting 3 centuries and 2 fifties in 9 innings so far – the latest of those centuries led Sri Lanka to an impressive draw against India.
Players to Watch out For
The experience of Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis and former captain Dhananjaya makes up for a solid batting lineup, capable of testing the opposition bowlers, especially in Asian conditions.
On the bowling front, the Lankan Lions have named 5 pacers in the squad – each offering diverse options – along with Prabath Jayasuria as their specialist spinner. Pakistan happens to be Jayasuria’s favourite opponent, having taken 26 wickets in 4 matches against the men in green.
Pitch and Bowling Conditions for the Rawalpindi Test
Ever since the series win against England in October 2024, Pakistan have served spin-friendly pitches where even the opposition tweakers have enjoyed success. However, this time around, Sajid Khan and Noman Ali are not even part of the squad, and visuals suggest that, upon directions from Mike Hesson to the ground staff, the PCB have prepared pace-friendly wickets.
This is evident from the fact that Arafat Minhas is the only specialist spinner in the squad and the remaining options are part-timers. By doing so, Pakistan are looking to avoid the threat that is Prabath Jayasuriya and also the Sri Lankan batters, who happen to be good spin players. Pace-friendly wickets in Pakistan are not easy to prepare, and the teams are served flat pitches instead, as was seen in the home series against Bangladesh, where a similar direction was given and the men in green succumbed to an embarrassing whitewash.
It will be interesting to see whether the Rawalpindi Test ends up being played on a batting paradise or shall the fans get to witness an equal competition between bat and ball.
Read more: ICC Announces Men’s ODI WC 2027 Schedule
Predicted Lineups
Pakistan: Azan Awais, Sameer Minhas, Tayyab Arif, Babar Azam (c), Saud Shakeel, Salman Agha, Saad Baig (wk), Arafat Minhas, Mohammad Abbas, Razaullah, Saqib Khan.
Sri Lanka: Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Lahiru Udara, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya De Silva, Sonal Dinusha, Kusal Mendis (c) (wk), Prabath Jayasuria, Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Dilshan Madushanka.
