Pakistan announce 17-member squad for Test series vs Bangladesh; new vice-captain named, Imam-ul-Haq dropped

Pakistan announced their 17-member squad for the Test series against Bangladesh starting later this month. Saud Shakeel has been named vice-captain of the side ahead of Mohammad Rizwan. Shaheen Shah Afridi has been relieved of vice-captaincy as part of workload management. The selectors have rewarded domestic performers Kamran Ghulam, and Muhammad Hurraira.
 

The notable absentees from the side are Imam-ul-Haq, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Noman Ali and Sajid Khan. They played in the Test series against Australia earlier this year. Hasan Ali and Mohammad Wasim were not considered as they are out injured. 
 

Naseem Shah has returned to the squads after a big gap of 13 months. Mohammad Ali who made his Test debut against England in 2022 has been recalled as well. Ghulam was in the squad for New Zealand series but did not get to make his debut. 

The new squad will start their training in camp from August 11 in Rawalpindi. However, Aamer Jamal may not join the new head coach Jason Gillespie as his participation in the Test series is subject to fitness.

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The Test series will commence on August 21 in Rawalpindi. The second Test will be played from August 30 in Karachi. The two-Test series will be a part of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle.

Debutants domestic numbers

Ghulam is a batter who can contribute with spin as well. He has 4,471 runs at an average 49.67 in first-class cricket from 99 innings including 17 centuries and 20 fifties.

Hurraira is a young batter from Sialkot who smashed a double century against Bangladesh A last month. The 22-year-old has scored 3,431 runs from 66 innings at an average of 56.24 including nine centuries and 14 fifties.

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Pakistan’s Test squad vs Bangladesh

Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel (vc), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Hurraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk) and Shaheen Shah Afridi
 

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