Pakistan have handed maiden Test call-ups to batter Muhammad Tayyab Arif and fast bowlers Ali Shabbir and Saqib Khan for the home series against Sri Lanka, with pace-bowling all-rounder Aamir Jamal also recalled to a 16-man squad announced by the Pakistan Cricket Board on Saturday.
The four additions take the squad from 14 to 16 players ahead of the two-match series, which begins at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Monday 9 November. The second Test will be played at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium from 17 to 21 November. Both matches form part of the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle, in which Pakistan currently sit at the bottom of the table while Sri Lanka are seventh.
Tayyab, Shabbir and Saqib all earned their places on the back of performances in the PCB Patron's XI three-day practice match against the touring Sri Lankans at the Islamabad Club from 4 to 6 November. The selectors used that fixture, played in conditions close to those expected in Rawalpindi, as a final audition before settling the squad.
Tayyab arrives with the strongest domestic numbers of the three newcomers. The batter has scored 727 runs in seven first-class matches this season at an average of 66.09, including three centuries, a run of form that made his selection difficult to ignore. His call-up rewards consistency at domestic level rather than a single standout innings.
Ali Shabbir, a teenage fast bowler, and seamer Saqib Khan complete the trio of debutants. Both impressed the team management during the practice match, where they bowled against a full-strength Sri Lankan batting line-up and gave the selectors a direct look at how they handle international-quality opposition.
Jamal's return adds experience to the pace department. The all-rounder made his Test comeback in the West Indies in July after an absence of more than a year, and his ability to contribute with bat and ball gives Pakistan an extra option in home conditions where the balance of the side is often decided by the fitness and form of the fast bowlers.
To make room for the four additions, the PCB has released Ali Usman and Abdullah Fazal from the squad. Both were part of the initial 14-member group named last month, which had already included the recalled Salman Ali Agha among its changes from the side that toured England in August.
Babar Azam will continue to lead the side. The captain's own form and leadership will be under scrutiny in a series Pakistan can ill afford to lose, given their position at the foot of the World Test Championship standings and the pressure that has built after a difficult run in the format.
The series also matters for Sri Lanka, who arrive in Pakistan after a competitive build-up and will see the two Tests as a chance to climb the championship table. The tourists had a full look at the conditions during the practice match in Islamabad, and their bowlers will have noted how the pitches behaved over three days.
With the first Test only two days away, Pakistan's focus now shifts from selection to preparation in Rawalpindi. Whether the three debutants go straight into the playing eleven, or whether the selectors hold one or two back, will become clear when the team is named on the eve of the match. For Tayyab, Shabbir and Saqib, though, the call-up alone marks the moment their domestic performances turned into a place in Pakistan's Test squad.
