Newly-appointed Chief Selector Wahab Riaz announced an 18-man squad for the three-match Test series against Australia during a press conference on Monday.
Pakistani fans have mixed opinions on the squad, some wanted Arshad Iqbal to be part of the contingent while others believe that Haris Rauf's availability wouldn't have made any difference. But one thing in common is, everyone is eager to see the left-handed young batter Saim Ayub in action.
Here is how fans on X, formerly Twitter, reacted
Shan Masood will lead Pakistan team during the series, which will begin with the first Test in Perth on December 14.
Pakistan squad
Shan Masood (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafiq, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Nauman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Sarfaraz Ahmed
The squad will assemble in Rawalpindi on November 22 for a training camp ahead of the tour. The camp will run till November 28 at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.
The team will fly out on November 30 from Lahore.
Some additional players have also been invited to feature in the training camp. The players called for the camp are Arshad Iqbal, Kashif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usama Mir and Usman Qadir.
While pacer Haris Rauf refused to travel to Australia citing fitness issues even though Riaz stated that the PCB assured him to manage his workload properly but he didn't change his mind.
During the presser, Riaz also provided injury updates on the injured pacers Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain and Ihsanullah.
" Naseem Shah will hopefully be able to bowl at 50-60% after three weeks. Mohammad Hasnain has started running and sprinting. He's started bowling last week but he'll need a couple of weeks to build up his workload. Ihsanullah continues to undergo rehab,” said the former pacer.
Schedule of Pakistan’s Test tour of Australia
First Test: December 14-18, Perth Stadium
Second Test: December 26-30, Melbourne Cricket Ground
Third Test: January 3-7, Sydney Cricket Ground
- Saim Ayub