Pakistan Cricket Board has appointed Sarfaraz Ahmed as the new head coach of the men's Test team. he former captain will be supported by his former teammates Asad Shafiq and Umar Gul, who have been appointed as batting and bowling coaches respectively.
Sarfaraz Ahmed's appointment comes after Azhar Mahmood's tenure as head coach ended last December.
It will be the first time that Sarfaraz will be coaching the senior men's team. The 38-year-old played for Pakistan from 2007 to 2023 and his most iconic moment as the Pakistan captain was the 2017 Champions Trophy final win over arch-rival India at Lord's cricket ground. In all he played 54 Tests, 117 ODIs and 61 T20is.
This comes ahead of Pakistan's two-match Test series against Bangladesh next month. The first Test will be played from May 8 to May 12 at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka and the second Test is scheduled from May 16 to May 20 at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhe.
When Pakistan last toured Bangladesh for a Test series in 2024, the hosts secured a historic 2-0 series victory over them.
The board has also unveiled a 16-member squad for the series, to be led by Shan Masood. The squad sees the return of 36-year-old fast bowler Mohammad Abbas, and inclusion of four uncapped players.
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Abbas' last Test appearance was in Jan. 2025 against South Africa in Cape Town. The four uncapped players named in the squad are Abdullah Fazal, Azan Awais, Ghazi Ghori and Amad Butt.
The selectors have also dropped spinners Asif Afridi and Abrar Ahmed, opener Abdullah Shafique, batter Kamran Ghulam and wicket-keeper Rohail Nazir from Pakistan's previous squad which played a two-match Test series against South Africa at home last Oct.
Pakistan Test squad
Shan Masood (captain), Abdullah Fazal, Amad Butt, Azan Awais, Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
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