The Pakistan selectors announced a 20-man squad with the return of opener Imam-ul-Haq and off-spinner Bilal Asif to the national team.
Chief selector Muhammad Wasim said Bilal was picked in place of Yasir. Yasir is currently recovering from a thumb injury. Due to this injury, he is unable to play even in the domestic first-class tournament Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.
Yasir, Pakistan’s most experienced Test bowler, played his last Test match in the West Indies in July-August.
The selectors have also included off-spinner Sajid Khan and leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood, while young pacer Shahnawaz Dahani has been dropped without a chance to make his debut. He was part of the team that toured the West Indies.
On the Bangladesh tour, Pakistan has to play the first Test from 26 to 30 November (Chittagong) and the second Test from 4 to 8 December (Dhaka).
“We have selected the team keeping in mind the conditions in Bangladesh and their potential players after consulting with the team management,” Wasim said.
“Bangladesh are a strong team on their soil but we have the resources, talent and experience to perform well,” he said. We would like to find the momentum here and continue it till the series against Australia, which will be part of the ICC World Test Championship.
Squad: Babar Azam (Captain), Mohammad Rizwan (Vice-Captain), Abdullah Shafiq, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Bilal Asif, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Abbas, Mohd. Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Zahid Mahmood.
,