Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), on Wednesday (February 9), announced a 16-player squad for the historic home Test series against Australia in March. This tour would mark Australia’s first assignment in Pakistan since 1998. Hence, PCB would want this series to go smoothly. Notably, Australia has named a full-strength squad for the Test series and would be determined to emerge victoriously.
Hence, Babar Azam’s men can’t afford to put a foot wrong. Meanwhile, PCB has also named their support staff for this series. The board confirmed that Saqlain Mushtaq will continue to serve as the head coach for the next 12 months.
At the same time, former Aussie speedster Shaun Tait has been roped in as the bowling coach for a year. One of the finest Pakistan batters ever, Mohammad Yousuf is another notable inclusion in the support staff. He’ll serve the side as the batting coach for this series. Former cricketer Abdul Majeed has been named the fielding coach. The backroom staff is certainly star-studded and the players are expected to do well under them.
As far as the players are concerned, Babar Azam will lead the 16-member squad while five players have been added as reserves. Chief selector Muhammad Wasim said the players have been awarded for their consistent performances.
“We have opted for consistency for the important home series against Australia and changes have only been made where absolutely necessary. This is to give the boys confidence, reward them for their impressive performances in the longer version of the game in 2021 and continue to build the side for the future,” Wasim said in an official statement.
Pakistan squad for Australia Tests: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, M Nawaz, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, Zahid Mahmood
Reserves: Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Yasir Shah
Support staff: Mansoor Rana (manager), Saqlain Mushtaq (head coach), Shahid Aslam (assistant to head coach), Mohammad Yousuf (batting coach), Shaun Tait (bowling coach), Cliffe Deacon (physiotherapist), Drikus Saaiman (trainer/strength and conditioning coach), Abdul Majeed (fielding coach), Emmad Ahmed Hameed (media and digital manager), Col (retd) Usman Anwari (security manager), Talha Ejaz (analyst) and Malang Ali (masseur).
