Feb 9, 2022:The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced its Test squad of 16 players and five reserves for the upcoming home series against Australia.

The Pakistan cricket selectors today announced 16 players and five reserves for the three Test matches against Australia, which will be played in Rawalpindi (March 4-8), Karachi (March 12-16) and Lahore (March 21-25), the PCB said.

This is the first time since 1998 that the Australian side is touring Pakistan. According to the schedule, the tour is between March and April 2022 and will include three Tests, three ODIs and a Twenty20 International.

Karachi (March 3-7), Rawalpindi (March 12-16), and Lahore (March 21-25) will host the Tests, while Lahore will host four whiteball matches from March 29 to April 5. The Tests will be part of the ICC World Test Championship, while the ODIs will be part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League.

According to the PCB, three changes have been made in the national Test squad after the tour of Bangladesh.

The board said Harris Rauf, who played Test series against South Africa and Zimbabwe in 2021, has rejoined the squad and has been replaced by off-spinner Bilal Asif. Meanwhile, Shan Masood, who last played in the New Zealand Test series in 2020-21, has replaced Abid Ali as he is undergoing rehabilitation after being diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome. Besides, Yasir Shah has been included in the reserve pool.

The PCB further said that the Test cricketers who are not playing in the current season 7 of the Pakistan Super League will gather in Karachi next Wednesday, February 16 to attend the training camp at the National Stadium Karachi.

According to Chief Selector Muhammad Wasim, “These are the best available, most talented and in-form players in the domestic circuit. I am confident they will put up an impressive performance against a formidable Australia side,” saying changes have only been made where necessary in an otherwise largely unchanged squad.

Meanwhile, the PCB has confirmed that Saqlain Mushtaq will be the head coach for another 12 months, while it has also appointed Shaun Tait as the fast bowling coach for 12 months and Mohammad Yousuf as the batting coach for the Australia series.

The squad includes; Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood and, Zahid Mahmood. With Reserves; Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Yasir Shah.

Stay tuned to BaaghiTV for latest news and Updates!