Sri Lankan team arrives in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD - Sri Lankan cricket team landed here at the Islamabad International Airport on Monday to play a two-match Test series as part of the World Test Championship against the Pakistan side.

According to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the Sri Lankan team was welcomed by PCB officials at the airport.

Earlier, Pakistan recalled middle-order batsman Fawad Alam to the Test team after ten years as the 34-year-old had last represented the country in the longer format of the game in November 2009.

Fast-bowler Usman Shinwari has also been included in the squad in place of Mohammad Musa. Shinwari took 15 wickets in six Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2019-20 first-class matches at an average of just over 25.

Both sides would contest two Tests, with the first to be played at Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi from December 11 and the second to begin at National Stadium in Karachi on December 19.

The Pindi Stadium would host a test match after a gap of 15 years. The last test was played between Pakistan and India in April 2004.

The Test cricket would return to National Stadium, Karachi after a gap of 10 years as the venue last hosted Pakistan and Sri Lanka Test in February 2009.

Pakistan squad for the two-match series includes Azhar Ali (captain), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah, Usman Shinwari.