Pakistan selectors have recalled all-rounder Aamir Jamal to the squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka, just two months after he returned midway through the England tour without playing a single Test.
Jamal is among several changes to the national squad for the opening Test, which begins in Rawalpindi on November 9. Left-arm spinner Ali Usman and opening batter Abdullah Fazal have been released from the original 16-member squad, which now has eight Test uncapped players out of whom only two, Arafat Minhas and Saad Baig, have played in white-ball formats for Pakistan.
The squad now includes uncapped batters Muhammad Tayyab Arif, Sameer Minhas, Muhammad Salman, Muhammad Taha and rookie pacers in Saqib Khan and Ali Shabbir.
All these young players featured in the three-day practice match against Sri Lanka earlier this week, which the visitors won by 142 runs on Friday.
Jamal’s return has come about after he performed well in the final of the first-class Presidents Cup recently, taking 7 for 32 and scoring a half-century for his team.
Jamal, who has played nine Tests, three ODIs and six T20Is, didn’t play a single Test in England and was sent home along with six other players by the Pakistan Cricket Board after defeats in the first two Tests.
Pakistan Test squad: Babar Azam (captain), Aamir Jamal, Ali Shabbir, Arafat Minhas, Azan Awais, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Mohammad Suleman, Mohammad Taha, Muhammad Tayyab Arif, Razaullah, Saad Baig (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Sameer Minhas, Saqib Khan and Saud Shakeel.