Shaheen Shah Afridi, a lanky bowler, was included in Pakistan’s 16-man team on Saturday, and he will play two Tests in Sri Lanka next month.
This will be his first appearance in the long form of the game in the last calendar year.
The knee injury the 23-year-old sustained in Sri Lanka in July meant that he was unable to play for Pakistan during their home Test series against Australia, England, and New Zealand.
Shaheen, who has taken 99 wickets over the course of 25 Tests, participated in the Twenty20 World Cup that was held in Australia the year before, but he damaged the same knee in the final.
However, he has now fully recovered and was able to participate in the Pakistan Super League as well as the Twenty20 International and One-Day International series that was played against New Zealand earlier this year.
Shaheen was quoted as saying, “I am very excited to be returning to the Pakistan Test side after a year,” in a statement released by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
“I dearly missed playing cricket in the Test format, and it was difficult for me to be away from this competition for so long.” I am excited to make a return that will have a significant effect.
Mohammad Huraira, a talented young batter, and Aamer Jamal, an all-rounder, have both been selected for the very first time.
Huraira, who is 21 years old, played in his maiden domestic season in 2021. During the course of that season, he scored 986 runs and became the second youngest Pakistani to reach a triple hundred, behind only Javed Miandad.
The previous year, he amassed 1,024 points and remained in first place on the table.
Pakistan’s first duty in the next World Test Championship cycle, which spans from 2023 to 2025 and consists of two matches played in Sri Lanka, will be to compete in those matches.
On July 3, the team will congregate in Karachi for a training camp Pakistan advance of their July 9 departure for Sri Lanka.
The schedule for the tour has not yet been made publically available.
Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan, Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Agha Salman, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood