Shan Masood celebrates after scoring a century during a Test match against New Zealand. File photo

Left-arm spinner Noman Ali has replaced fast bowler Khurram Shahzad who is recovering from a side strain.

Masood, a 34-year-old top order batsman, was named captain in the 15-man squad announced for next month's first Test in Multan.

There had been media that reports Masood faced an axe after Pakistan's shocking 2-0 defeat against Bangladesh last month.

Pakistan had never lost to Bangladesh before the twin defeats took Masood's record to five losses since replacing Babar Azam as skipper in November last year. He lost his first series 3-0 in Australia.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) stuck with Masood as their Australian head coach Jason Gillespie sought consistency.

Bowling all-rounder Aamer Jamal has recovered from a back injury and was named in a 15-member squad announced by PCB. Noman will be the second specialist spin option for Pakistan along with Abrar Ahmed in a squad named for the first test.

Masood’s place as captain was under the scanner after Bangladesh routed Pakistan 2-0 for Masood’s fifth straight test defeat since he was elevated to test skipper last year.

Pakistan were forced to leave out fast bowler Khurram Shahzad, who couldn’t recover from a left side strain sustained during the second Test against Bangladesh.

The selectors left out fast bowler Mohammad Ali and middle-order batter Kamran Ghulam, who were both part of Pakistan’s squad during the Bangladesh series.

Multan will host back-to-back test matches in between Oct.7-19 while the third and final Test will be played at Rawalpindi from Oct.24. Pakistan squad will have a pre-series training camp at Multan, starting on Oct.1.

Squad: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel, Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Agencies