Pakistan selectors recall veteran Abbas
Pakistan’s national selectors have recalled 36-year-old pace bowler, Mohammad Abbas, and included four uncapped players in their squad for a two-match Test series in Bangladesh next month. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also named former Test captain, Sarfaraz Ahmed, as the new head coach of the red ball squad, which includes uncapped batters Abdullah Fazal, Azan Awais, all-rounder Amad Butt and wicketkeeper Ghazi Ghouri. The four players have yet to play for the national team in any format.
The selectors recalled Abbas to the side after January 2025, when he played at Cape Town against South Africa and took three wickets.
Pakistan’s last outing in Tests was a home series against South Africa last October, which ended 1-1 and was their first outing in the current ICC World Test Championship cycle.
The selectors have dropped spinners Asif Afridi and Abrar Ahmed, opener Abdullah Shafique, batter Kamran Ghulam and reserve keeper Rohail Nazir from the Test squad that was picked against South Africa. Pakistan will tour Bangladesh next month with the first of the two matches — part of the ICC World Test Championship — to be played at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka from May 8 to 12, while the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium will host the second game, which will be played from May 16 to 20.
The PCB retained Shan Masood as the captain of the side while confirming the appointment of Sarfaraz as head coach and former Test players Asad Shafique and Umar Gul as the batting and bowling coaches of the Test squad. Sarfaraz and Shafiq are also national selectors.
Naveed Akram Cheema, who attracted controversy after the T20 World Cup over whether he allegedly fined a player or not in Sri Lanka, also returns as manager after missing out on the recent white-ball series in Bangladesh due to health issues.
