Pakistan named four uncapped players in their Test squad for the upcoming Bangladesh tour: who are they?
Pakistan have announced a 16-strong squad for their two-Test series against Bangladesh. The first match is scheduled to be played in Dhaka between May 8 and 12, while Sylhet will host the second place, starting May 16.
While the experienced campaigners have all been selected, four players have received their first-ever Test call-up for Pakistan: left-handed openers Abdullah Fazal and Azan Awais, pace-bowling all-rounder Amad Butt and wicketkeeper-batter Muhammad Ghazi Ghori.
Who are the four uncapped players named in Pakistan’s Test squad for Bangladesh tour?
Amad Butt
The fast-bowling all-rounder is an experienced campaigner himself, having made his first-class debut back in 2015. He has since played 64 matches in the format and taken 205 wickets at 25.55 each, with nine five-wicket hauls and two ten-wicket match hauls.
Butt’s maiden Test call-up has come on the back of a strong President’s Trophy season for Pakistan TV. He was their top wicket-taker with 32 scalps at 19.21 each from seven matches, while also scoring 206 runs. He helped PTV snatch a world-record win against SNGPL, successfully defending just 40 runs - the lowest total ever defended in first-class cricket - with a four-wicket haul.
Abdullah Fazal
The 23-year-old opening batter was the President’s Trophy top run-scorer this season, with 622 runs in seven matches at 51.83, including two hundreds and as many fifties for State Bank of Pakistan. The southpaw showed great form in the National T20 Cup as well, scoring 189 runs in four matches at a strike-rate of 167.25, including a match-winning 88* in the semifinal for Karachi Whites.
After making his first-class debut in 2024, Abdullah has scored 1828 runs in the format at 41,54, with four hundreds and ten half-centuries. He is currently playing for Rawalpindiz in the PSL and will join the Pakistan Test squad after the tournament.
Azan Awais
Part of the Pakistan squad for the 2024 under-19 World Cup, Awais announced himself with a stunning 2024/25 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, his debut season, where he finished as the top-scorer with 844 runs at 76.72, including four hundreds and two fifties, while powering Sialkot to the title. He followed it up with 578 runs at 41.28, with two hundreds and three fifties, in the 2024/25 President’s Trophy.
He continued piling on the runs in the following season: 803 runs at 50.18, with three hundreds and three fifties, in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and 448 runs at 32.00, with a hundred and fifty, in the President’s Trophy. Overall, in a two-year-long first-class career so far, the left-handed opener has scored 2673 runs at 48.60 in 33 matches, with 10 centuries and nine fifties.
Muhammad Ghazi Ghori
The wicketkeeper-batter has international experience under his belt, having made his ODI debut for Pakistan against Bangladesh in March. He was the second-highest run-scorer in the recent President’s Trophy season with 531 runs in seven matches at 48.27, with two hundreds and a fifty, and scored his runs at a strike-rate of 85.92.
Overall, since his first-class debut in 2023, the 23-year-old has scored 1692 runs at 41.26 in 26 matches, with three hundreds and 10 half-centuries.
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