The England tour was a mess, but the BCCI—er, PCB—has decided to hit the reset button. Salman Ali Agha and Ali Usman are back in the 14-member squad for the upcoming two-match series against Sri Lanka. They were among the seven players sent home in August, a move that left fans scratching their heads. Now, both are given a second shot to prove the axing was a mistake.
The real story, though, is the youth injection. Mohammad Taha, Mohammad Suleman, and Sameer Minhas have earned their maiden Test call-ups. Taha is the star of the show here—the 26-year-old left-hander is tearing up the President's Trophy Grade-I charts with 730 runs in just seven matches. That includes three centuries and a monstrous 225. Suleman isn't far behind, sitting fifth with 652 runs and three hundreds. These aren't just names on a list; they're numbers that demand attention.
But not everyone got the get-out-of-jail-free card. Mohammad Rizwan and Imam-ul-Haq remain locked out. Rizwan’s absence is complicated by the recent NCCIA inquiry after his phone was seized in London following the Lord's Test. It’s a messy situation, and keeping him out adds a layer of intrigue to the squad dynamics. Babar Azam holds onto the captaincy, providing stability while the rest of the lineup gets shuffled.
Pakistan will take on Sri Lanka next, looking to stabilize a Test unit that has been in flux. The pressure is on Taha and the other debutants to deliver immediately—there won't be a second chance to impress like this one was for Agha and Usman.