Wahab Riaz has been added back to the team for the, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq said when he announced the squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka in a press conference on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Shahzad and Mohammad Rizwan have been dropped from the team.
Inzamam announced a 16-member squad for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka that starts on Sept 28.
Pakistan team: Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Asghar, Bilal Asif, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas, Wahab Riaz
Explaining Yasir Shah and Azhar Ali’s selection, who had fitness problems, Inzamam said that both had cleared the test.
“We told Yasir that he will not be selected if he does not clear the fitness test,” he said. “Even though no bowler has been as successful as Yasir in the Test format, but we had to uphold the standards that were set.
“Azhar has a cyst in his knee but after taking injections that were prescribed by the doctors, he is fine and can play now.”
The series comes after the recent Independence Cup between Pakistan and the World XI that was held in Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore earlier this month. Pakistan has not hosted top-level international cricket — barring five limited over matches against minnows Zimbabwe in 2015 — since the Sri Lankan team bus was attacked by terrorists in March 2009, killing eight people and injuring seven players and staff.
Source: Dawn
