New Faces in Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh Tour

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has officially announced a 16-member squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh scheduled for next month. Among the selections, four players have received their maiden Test call-ups. While wicketkeeper-batsman Muhammad Ghazi Ghori has previously represented Pakistan in a single One Day International (ODI), the remaining three—left-handed openers Abdullah Fazal and Azan Awais, and pace-bowling all-rounder Amad Butt—are entirely uncapped at the international level.

Detailed Profiles of the Uncapped Selections

Amad Butt

At 30 years of age, Amad Butt is the most seasoned of the newcomers, boasting an extensive domestic career that began in 2015. A right-arm pace-bowling all-rounder, Butt has featured in 64 first-class matches. His bowling record is particularly notable, with 205 wickets at an average of 25.55, including nine five-wicket hauls and two instances of ten wickets in a single match.

His selection follows a dominant performance in the President’s Trophy for PTV, where he topped the wicket-taking charts with 32 scalps at an average of 19.21 across seven matches. He also contributed 206 runs with the bat. Notably, he played a pivotal role in a world-record first-class victory for PTV against SNGPL, where his team successfully defended a target of only 40 runs; Butt claimed 4 wickets in that historic innings.

Azan Awais

A rising star who participated in the 2024 U-19 World Cup, Azan Awais made an immediate impact in his debut first-class season. Representing Sialkot in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, the left-hander amassed 844 runs at a staggering average of 76.72, the highest in the tournament, helping his side secure the title. Over a two-year first-class career spanning 33 matches, he has maintained an average of 48.60 with 10 centuries.

Abdullah Fazal

The 23-year-old opener was the leading run-scorer in the recent President’s Trophy, scoring 622 runs at an average of 51.83 for the State Bank of Pakistan. Fazal has demonstrated versatility across formats, previously scoring 189 runs in the National T20 Cup at a strike rate of 167.25. Since his first-class debut in 2024, he has accumulated 1,828 runs at an average of 41.54.

Muhammad Ghazi Ghori

Having made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in March, the 23-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman returns to the squad for the Test format. His inclusion follows a productive President’s Cup campaign where he scored 531 runs—the second-highest in the competition—at an average of 48.27 and a modern strike rate of 85.92.

First-Class Career Statistics of New Call-ups

*Note: Career aggregate inclusive of all domestic formats as per provided records.

The inclusion of these four players reflects the PCB’s strategy to integrate top performers from the President’s Trophy and Quaid-e-Azam Trophy into the national red-ball setup. The upcoming tour will serve as a significant testing ground for this blend of youthful potential and domestic experience.