Pakistan announce squad for the New Zealand Test series, Hasan Ali returns while uncapped Kamran Ghulam replaces retired Azhar Ali

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday announced their squad for the two-match Test series against New Zealand, starting on December 26 in Karachi. Premier fast bowler Hasan Ali returns to the Test setup while uncapped batter Kamran Ghulam comes in place of retired veteran Azhar Ali.

Hasan, 28, was not a part of the recently concluded three-match home Test series against England. He has impressive numbers in red-ball cricket with 77 wickets from just 21 Tests at an average of 24.57 and will boost Pakistan's struggling bowling attack. He replaces Mohammad Ali in the squad while Faheem Ashraf is advised to play in the ongoing domestic cricket tournament. 

Naseem Shah, who missed the last two Tests against England with a shoulder injury, is also included in the squad. However, Haris Rauf failed to recover form the injury that he sustained during fielding in the first Test match against England in Rawalpindi. Injury issues, particularly in the bowling department, played a big part in Pakistan's embarrassing defeat against England. 

The return of Naseem and Hasan, however, will increase the confidence among the Pakistani bowling unit who struggled heavily against England. The hosts lost all three matches and bowlers were criticized fairly for not containing England's attacking approach. In the batting unit, the uncapped batting all-rounder Kamran Ghulam comes in place of Azahar Ali and is likely to make a debut in the first Test match. 

Ghulam has scored 3268 runs from 44 first-class matches at an impressive average of 47.36, including 597 runs at an average of 42.64 in the recent Quaid-e-Azam season. 

Pakistan Test Squad for the New Zealand Series: Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Zahid Mehmood.