Sarfraz Ahmed will take charge of his first series as the captain of the Pakistan Test squad in the upcoming bilateral series against Sri Lanka.
Pakistan are scheduled to play two Tests against the Sri Lankans, starting on September 28 in their second home, the UAE.
This in fact will be the first such series where Pakistan will be without the services of the iconic Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan, both of whom called time on their distinguished careers after the tour of West Indies earlier this year.
Sarfraz created history earlier this summer when he led Pakistan to a surprise maiden ICC Champions Trophy triumph in England.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had announced the 16-man squad for the Sri Lanka series on Friday with a maiden call-up for left-arm pacer Mir Hamza and off-spinning all-rounder Bilal Asif.
There was disappointment for teenage leg-spinning sensation Shadab Khan though. The 18-year-old, who has created ripples ever since bursting onto the international scene earlier this year against West Indies, has not been selected.
The series in the UAE will mark the start of a new era in Pakistan cricket which has shown plenty of upswings lately.
After winning the Champions Trophy against all the odds, the Mickey Arthur coached side recently completed a 2-1 win in the Independence Cup over the visiting ICC World XI at Lahore as international cricket made a long-awaited comeback to the country.
Pakistan team camp at GSL Day 2 #PAKvSL pic.twitter.com/TRGB2ikEYE
— PCB Official (@TheRealPCB) September 20, 2017
The upcoming series against Sri Lanka will also feature a day-night Test in Dubai, which will be a first for the islanders. Apart from the Tests, the two sides will play five ODIs and three T20Is.
Sri Lanka are coming into the series on the back of a thumping at the hands of the Indians in the Tests and the limited-overs series. The team was whitewashed in all the three-formats in their own backyard, a first for them in their long cricketing history.
Sri Lanka had named a 15-man squad led by Dinesh Chandimal for the series but the islanders have suffered a huge setback after stalwart Angelo Mathews was ruled out of the opening Test.
The all-rounder suffered a grade one tear to his calf-muscle during a training session on Wednesday.
Injured Angelo Mathews ruled out of first Pakistan Test – https://t.co/Pn0P2Nf72h #PAKvSL #SriLanka #LKA pic.twitter.com/m4gxLErz2p
— Daniel Alexander (@daniel86cricket) September 20, 2017
The third and final T20I which was originally supposed to take place at the UAE has now been shifted to Lahore with Sri Lanka agreeing to play in Pakistan for the first time since the terrorist attacks on its team bus in 2009.
Sarfraz Ahmed (C), Azhar Ali, Sami Aslam, Shan Masood, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Asghar, Mohammad Abbas, Bilal Asif, Mir Hamza, Wahab Riaz.
Dinesh Chandimal (C), Lahiru Thirimanne, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Roshen Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Rangana Herath, Lakshan Sandakan, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishva Fernando, Lahiru Gamage.
Standby: Dhananjaya De Silva, Jeffrey Vandersay, Akila Dananjaya, Lahiru Kumara, Dasun Shanaka.