Pakistan pick Yasir, Nawaz for first Sri Lanka Test

Pakistani players Mohammad Nawaz, left, and Yasir Shah during a football game in the team's training session at Gabba in Brisbane on December 14, 2016, on the eve of a day and night Test against Australia. (AFP/File)

• Shah will play his first Test since August 2021 after recovering from a thumb injury
• Nawaz, left-hand batsman who bowls left-arm spin, will return after almost 6 years

GALLE, Sri Lanka: Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah and all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz have been picked to play the first Test against Sri Lanka as the tourists announced their XI On Friday. 

Yasir, 36, will play his first Test since August last year after recovering from a thumb injury, Pakistan said in a statement on the eve of the two-match series starting Saturday in Galle. 

Nawaz, a left-hand batsman who bowls left-arm spin, will return to the side after almost six years. 

Pakistan, led by Babar Azam, have handed Salman Ali Agha his international debut after the all-rounder impressed in the country’s domestic competition. 

The 28-year-old Agha is a batsman who bowls off-spin. 

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Pakistan XI: Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wkt), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Afridi, Yasir Shah