Salman Agha recalled for Sri Lanka Tests
Mohammad Taha, Mohammad Suleman and Sameer Minhas have earned their maiden Test call-ups
Salman Ali Agha and Ali Usman, who were among seven players dropped midway through Pakistan’s tour of England in August, have been named in the initial 14-member squad for the two-match series against Sri Lanka. Additionally, Mohammad Taha, Mohammad Suleman and Sameer Minhas have earned their maiden Test call-ups.
Taha, a 26-year-old left-hander, is the leading run-scorer in the ongoing President's Trophy Grade-I first-class competition, with 730 runs in seven matches, including three centuries and a best of 225. Suleman sits fifth on the run charts with 652 runs, also with three hundreds. Sameer has made 405 runs in seven games in his first season of first-class cricket, having come through the Pakistan Under-19 setup.
Babar Azam stays on as captain but there’s no place though for Mohammad Rizwan and Imam-ul-Haq, who were among the seven players to be sent home from the UK. Rizwan has also been the subject of an inquiry by Pakistan’s National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency since his phone was seized in London on the night the Lord’s Test ended.
Abdullah Fazal, Arafat Minhas, Razaullah and Saad Baig, all drafted in for the final Test at Edgbaston, have kept their places.
Two more fast bowlers will be added to the squad from the PCB Patron’s XI, once their three-day game against the touring side is complete.
Rawalpindi hosts the first Test from November 9 to 13 whereas Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium the second from November 17 to 21.
