Pakistan have let go of two players from the Sri Lanka Test squad they announced earlier. Top-order batter Abdullah Fazal and Ali Usman are the casualties, making way for fast-bowling all-rounder Aamer Jamal and young batter Tayyab Arif.
Pakistan stock up on pace
Besides these two replacements, the hosts have added two more pacers to the squad, which they said they would when announcing the 14-member squad. Saqib Khan and Ali Shabbir are the fast bowlers called up to play the two Tests against Sri Lanka, set to begin on November 9 in Rawalpindi.
The two pacers, who have played a total of 27 first-class games between themselves, were part of the PCB Patron’s XI squad in the warm-up against Sri Lanka, which the visitors won convincingly. Saqib and Shabbir grabbed four and three wickets, respectively, during the game.
Akin to the two pacers, batter Tayyab Arif is also uncapped. Tayyab scored three hundreds and six fifties, including a 98 and 70, in the President’s Trophy last month. He boasted the highest batting average among the top five in the tournament, which earned him a place in the PCB Patron’s XI squad for the warm-up game.
Are Pakistan curating bouncy surfaces for the series?
Aamer Jamal, meanwhile, comes with decent experience, having played nine Test games previously. Making his debut against Australia in Australia in 2023, Jamal bagged 18 wickets across three games, though Pakistan have limited his selection mostly to fast-bowling-friendly conditions. That does make one wonder if Pakistan are inclining towards bouncy surfaces against Sri Lanka.
The fact that Ali Usman, a finger spinner, has also been let go further cements this notion. Usman made his debut in the Caribbean this year and has played four Test games since. He would have been a certain starter for home Tests had Pakistan been following their previous successful strategy of curating rank turners. But against a team like Sri Lanka, which is in every way more adept than the hosts in matters of spin, this didn’t seem to be a good ploy.
But conditions or experience do not quite explain Abdullah Fazal’s axe from the squad. Making his debut against Bangladesh earlier this year, Fazal scored fifties in both innings. This earned him a place in the squads for West Indies and England, which he paid for by top-scoring in the tour game against West Indies Select XI.
An injury, however, forced him out of both series. Returning to domestic cricket, Abdullah played six President’s Trophy games and scored an unbeaten 309 in the first game, though he could only score one more fifty after that.
Updated Pakistan squad for Sri Lanka Tests
Babar Azam (c), Aamer 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.
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