Shan Masood Welcomes Return of Khurram Shahzad and Mohammad Abbas to Pakistan Test Squad
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Centurion, Dec 25 (NationPress) As Pakistan gears up for the Boxing Day Test against South Africa at SuperSport Park on Thursday, captain Shan Masood stated that the comeback of pacers Khurram Shahzad and Mohammad Abbas is a highly encouraging development for his squad.
Shahzad is rejoining the team after recovering from a rib injury that sidelined him following Pakistan's defeat to Bangladesh 2-0 in August, while Abbas is back in the Test setup after last participating in the longer format in August 2021.
“The return of pacer Khurram Shahzad, who performed admirably on his debut in Australia, along with the experienced Mohammad Abbas, is a positive boost for Pakistan’s Test team as they seek victories in one of the most challenging conditions for visiting teams,” Masood remarked in a statement from the PCB on Wednesday.
The forthcoming two-match Test series against South Africa marks Aqib Javed’s inaugural red-ball coaching assignment after recently leading the team in the white-ball series against Zimbabwe last month. During their current tour of South Africa, Pakistan faced setbacks in the three-match T20I series, losing 2-0, but made a strong comeback with a historic 3-0 victory in the ODI series.
Pakistan is striving for a Test win in South Africa after a long gap of 18 years, while a victory for South Africa at Centurion would secure their position in next year’s World Test Championship Final at Lord’s.
“We are keenly anticipating the opportunity to measure ourselves against South Africa, who have consistently been one of the top teams globally. We carry some momentum from our recent home Test series against England and the ODI series, which included several members of our Test squad.
“We understand that South Africa has performed well in this stage of the ICC World Test Championship, but we have adequately prepared for this series, arriving in the country at least two weeks in advance,” Masood added.
Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Haseebullah (wk), Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, and Salman Ali Agha
South Africa squad: Temba Bavuma (captain), David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (wk)
