Chief selector Wahab Riaz on Monday unveiled the 18-man Pakistan Test team for the three-match visit to Australia, which is slated to take place between December 14, 2023, and January 7, 2024.
As for Wahab, this will be his first job after taking over as head of the national men’s selection committee last week. Shan Masood was chosen as captain following the resignation of Babar Azam.
Masood, who replaced Babar as captain after a disastrous World Cup campaign, has been selected Pakistan’s captain for the ICC World Test Championship 2023–25 cycle.
🚨 SQUAD ANNOUNCED 🚨
Our 18-member squad for the three-match Test series against Australia 🇵🇰
Read more ➡️ https://t.co/eHP9NXPkOu#AUSvPAK | #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/ioKnv0cBxJ
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) November 20, 2023
Pacer Haris Rauf had told the cricket board that he would play Test cricket for the national team, but Riaz claimed in his first press conference as head selector that he had notified the management yesterday that he did not want to be involved in this series.
“It’s crucial to let you know about this so that everyone is aware of what’s happening,” Riaz told reporters, bringing up Rauf’s worries about potential health problems if he participated in the tour.
“We’ve made every effort to help him. I was prepared to accept it even if he didn’t succeed on this tour. According to our fitness guru, Rauf won’t face any problems going forward.
“We could have managed the issues but he pulled out at the last moment. I believe this will be a setback to Pakistan,” the chief selector explained.
