Pakistan
Pakistan (Credit: AP)

Pakistan faced an appalling defeat in the Test series against Australia down under, having lost both the Tests by an innings. They return home where they will play their first Test series since 2009 against Sri Lanka in their own country. On the backdrop of a strong domestic showing, Fawad Alam returns to the 16-man squad for the two Tests against Sri Lanka, starting from 11th December.

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Fawad’s return to the national side sees Iftikhar Ahmed getting sidelined since he scored only 44 runs in four innings on the tour of Australia. Usman Shinwari, who has played only limited-overs games so far, has received a call-up instead of Muhammad Musa Khan. The latter made his Test debut in the second Test in Adelaide, and went wicketless in 20 overs, conceding 114 runs.

Fawad Alam
Fawad Alam. (Credits: PCB)

Their young pace sensation, Naseem Shah, who was included in the squad for the U19 World Cup next year in South Africa has retained his place. He is set to miss their squad’s preparatory camp in Lahore and would join the teammates for the U19 World Cup after the Test series. Uncapped player Kashif Bhatti also kept his place in the team. The 33-year old left-arm spinner was picked for the Australian tour, but couldn’t find a place in the playing eleven.

Fawad Alam in terrific form:

Fawad Alam is likely to play his first Test in ten years after making his debut. The 34-year old averages above 40 in three Tests, having scored 168 runs in three matches. Despite being one of the prolific run-scorers in the domestic circuit, he was overlooked multiple times. His last international appearance was in an ODI against Bangladesh in April 2015.

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Fawad Alam Included In The 16-Man Pakistan Squad Against Sri Lanka
Azhar Ali. Photo Credit: Getty Images.

His recent scores in the Quaid-E-Azam Trophy for Sindh are 92, 1, 29*, 107, 0, 65, 211, 116. Last month, Fawad Alam expressed his disappointment at getting ignored by the selectors despite his heavy run-scoring but didn’t lose hope of donning the national colours again. The first Test begins in Rawalpindi on 11th December and the second Test commences in Karachi on 19th December.

Squad: Azhar Ali (capt), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah, Usman Shinwari

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