The 18-member Pakistan squad for the two-match Test series to be played in Sri Lanka in July has been announced.
Accordingly, Yasir Shah is in line to play his first Test in nearly a year after he was included in the squad to tour Sri Lanka.
The squad is largely unchanged from the one that took on Australia at home for a three-match Test series in March, with Zahid Mahmood and Sajid Khan omitted, while uncapped allrounder Agha Salman, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Naseem Shah come into the fray.
Yasir’s inclusion is by some distance the most notable development. The legspinner has endured a troubled last 12 months, which included struggles with injury and fitness, as well as his naming in a rape case, though the charges against him were later dropped.
He was instrumental in Pakistan’s 2-1 series victory last time the two sides met in Sri Lanka in 2015, taking 24 wickets at 19.33.
He went on to be named the Player of the Series. Pakistan will begin the series with a three-day warm-up match starting July 11.
The series will begin in Galle on July 16, with the second Test to start on July 24 in Colombo.
