Former captain Salman Agha has officially returned to Pakistan’s Test cricket squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka, though there remains no place for Mohammad Rizwan following the team’s thoroughly disastrous tour of England earlier this year.

Agha and Rizwan were among seven players who were reportedly expelled from the Test tour of England in August, a series that the visitors lost in a dismal 3-0 sweep. In Pakistan’s first squad announcement since the debacle, five players remain out of favour, including wicketkeeper-batsman Rizwan, who is allegedly the subject of an ongoing investigation by the country’s cybercrime agency.

Earlier this week, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) supposedly permitted Rizwan to feature in a domestic match, though his international future appears increasingly uncertain. Agha was omitted from this month’s T20 series against Sri Lanka, but the 32-year-old allegedly impressed during the ongoing One-Day International (ODI) series at home, scoring a century against Sri Lanka last Sunday.

Babar Azam will continue to lead the side in the two crucial Tests against Sri Lanka scheduled in Rawalpindi and Lahore. The 14-member squad includes a trio of uncapped batters who have performed well at the domestic level, as Pakistan attempts to climb from the bottom of the World Test Championship standings, where they currently sit ninth and last.

Source: www.aljazeera.com