Lahore: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Saturday that fast bowler Shaheen Afridi will be back in the Test team for the two away games against Sri Lanka next month.
The 16-person team for Pakistan’s first match in the third cycle of the ICC World Test Championship also includes batters Mohammad Huraira and Aamir Jamal, who have never played for Pakistan before.
The board said in a statement that the team put together with Sri Lanka’s weather and conditions in mind. The team has four spin bowlers, four fast bowlers, six expert batters, and two keeper-batters.
In July 2022, Pakistan and Sri Lanka finished a Test series that tied 1-1.
Pakistan squad
Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc & wk), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi and Shan Masood
While, Shaheen needs one more wicket to hit 100 wickets in Tests. Since his debut on December 3, 2018, no other Pakistani bowler has taken more wickets than him. Shaheen, who is 23 years old, has a mean of 24.86 and an economy of 3.04.
Moreover, Shaheen said that he was happy to be back on the Test team: “I am very happy to be back on the Pakistan Test team after a year. I missed Test cricket very much, and it was hard for me to be away from it.
“Because of the hurt I got in Sri Lanka, I missed our whole home season. I’m excited to make a big comeback in the same country and get to 100 wickets in Test cricket. I want to thank my friends for being there for me when things were hard, and I’m ready for what’s next.”
