The first Test will start tomorrow in Galle
Sarfaraz Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan during Pakistan's last Test against New Zealand in Karachi earlier this year - PCBBabar Azam and his team practiced hard at the Galle Cricket Stadium today before they take on the Island side in their first match of the ICC World Test Championship's third cycle.
Before the training session, Babar and Sri Lanka's captain Dimuth Karunaratne unveiled the series trophy and held a press conference.
In the pre-series presser, Babar showed confidence in his team players and said he is looking forward to a successful start in the championship cycle.
Last year, Pakistan played two Tests in Sri Lanka. They won the first Test by four wickets whereas lost the second by 246 runs. National team's premium pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, who got injured during the last series in Sri Lanka, will be making his Test return at the same venue.
Pakistan's likely XI against Sri Lanka for first TEST.
Is concerned, they are expected to make two changes from the last team that played a Test against New Zealand in Karachi. Shaheen and Nauman Ali are expected to replace Hassan Ali and Mir Hamza.
Sarfaraz Ahmed, who scored a match-saving century in the last Test against New Zealand, is likely to be retained as the wicketkeeper in the playing XI. Rizwan, despite being named as the vice-captain, is most likely to sit out during the first game.
“One of the positives going into the Galle Test is 13 of our players were here 12 months ago. Abrar Ahmed has identified himself as a good option in our combination. I am sure this tour will be a good learning curve for him as we have high hopes from him in this and future series.”
