Shahid Afridi was named the interim chief selector of the Pakistani cricket team by the Pakistani Cricket Board on Friday. On Saturday, he added three bowlers to the national squad for the two-match home Test series against New Zealand, which will begin in Karachi on Monday. The first match of the series will be played in Karachi.
The Pakistani Cricket Board (PCB) stated that Afridi, after discussing with skipper Babar Azam, added off-spinner Sajid Khan as well as pacers Mir Hamza and Shahnawaz Dahani to the team.
According to the Board’s statement, the decision to add the three bowlers was decided after a meeting of the interim selection committee, which Afridi presided over as chairman. Captain Babar Azam became a member of the gathering.
Afridi stated that the selectors had a productive conversation about the squad, and they all agreed that the bowling department needed to be strengthened in order to provide the team with the best possible opportunity to take 20 wickets in a match virtually.
“As a result of this, and also taking into account recent form and performances, we have added off-spinner Sajid Khan, fast bowlers Mir Hamza and Shahnawaz Dahani, and off-break bowler Sajid Khan,” Adridi stated.
I am certain that Babar Azam will have more alternatives to field the strongest possible squad for the first Test as a result of the inclusion of three additional bowling resources. While Hamza and Sajid have competed for Pakistan in Test matches, Dahani has only played for Pakistan in white-ball formats.
Earlier in the day, Afridi, who had previously served as captain of the Pakistan men’s national team, was given the role of acting head selector.
Former players Abdul Razzaq, Rao Ifthikar Anjum, and Haroon Rasheed were all members of the selections committee serving in an interim capacity.
Afridi and Haroon are both members of the cricket management committee of the PCB, which is chaired by Najam Sethi and has been selected to govern the affairs of the game in the country for the next four months. Afridi is the vice chairman of the committee, and Haroon is the secretary of the committee.
Pakistan Test squad: Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood and Zahid Mehmood.