Pakistan include four new faces in squad for Bangladesh Tests; Sarfaraz Ahmed appointed as head coach

Pakistan have named the former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed as head coach for the two-match away Test series against Bangladesh to be played in May.

Shan Masood leads the 16-man squad, which features four fresh faces: Abdullah Fazal, Amad Butt, Azan Awais and Ghazi Ghori. Of this, Ghori is the only one with an international cap, featuring in the recently completed ODI series in Bangladesh.

Star batter Babar Azam returns to the squad after having been dropped for the Bangladesh ODI series.

Sarfaraz will be accompanied by a fresh backroom staff, as Asad Shafiq and Umar Gul have been appointed as batting and bowling coaches, respectively. 

The PCB have organised a red-ball conditioning camp for the players, held at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. Of the squad, five players – Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Ghori, Noman Ali and Sajid Khan – are currently taking part in the camp. 

Sarfaraz had successfully led the Pakistan team to the 2017 Champions Trophy and has been part of the backroom staff for a significant period of time. He was mentor-cum-manager of the Pakistan Shaheens for their series against the England Lions. Under his mentorship, Pakistan also lifted the U-19 Asia Cup in 2025.

Players from squads that will not be featuring in the later rounds of the Pakistan Super League will take part in a camp in Karachi from April 27 to May 1, the PCB confirmed in a statement. 

The PSL players are slated to join the camp at the end of their campaign. The squad will fly to Bangladesh on May 2, and players whose teams will feature in the final on May 3 will join the squad after the game.

The first Test will be played from May 8 to 12 in Dhaka, while the second will be played from May 16-20 in Sylhet.

Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh Tests

Shan Masood (c), Abdullah Fazal, Amad Butt, Azan Awais, Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi.