Pakistan Add Aamer Jamal and Three Debutants to Sri Lanka Test Squad

By NajamSports Team | 7 November 2026

Babar Azam batting during the 2nd Test match against Sri Lanka at the SSC in Colombo, July 2023

File photo: Babar Azam, who will captain Pakistan in the Sri Lanka Test series — Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Two days before the first ball in Rawalpindi, Pakistan have changed their plans. The PCB confirmed on Saturday that four players have been added to the Test squad for the two-match series against Sri Lanka — pace-bowling all-rounder Aamer Jamal plus three uncapped players, batter Muhammad Tayyab Arif and fast bowlers Ali Shabbir and Saqib Khan. Two players from the original squad, Ali Usman and Abdullah Fazal, have been released, taking the squad to 16.

I had been watching this space since the original 14-man squad was named, and the timing tells its own story. These four additions come straight off the three-day practice match between the PCB Patron's XI and Sri Lanka at the Islamabad Club, which finished on Friday with Sri Lanka winning by 142 runs. The selectors watched that game, saw what they needed, and acted within 24 hours. That is not a routine tweak — it is a selection panel reacting to what it saw with its own eyes.

What Happened?

The PCB confirmed the additions on Saturday, 7 November 2026, and the ICC carried the updated squad the same day. Tayyab, Ali and Saqib all receive their maiden international call-ups. All three played in the Patron's XI practice match against the tourists from 4 to 6 November, so the selectors picked them on current form in conditions as close to the real thing as you can get without a cap.

The updated 16-man squad is: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Ali Shabbir, Arafat Minhas, Azan Awais, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ghazi Ghori, Mohammad Suleman, Mohammad Taha, Muhammad Tayyab Arif, Razaullah, Saad Baig, Salman Ali Agha, Sameer Minhas, Saqib Khan and Saud Shakeel.

The Four Additions — and Why Each One Earned It

Aamer Jamal — the familiar name. The 30-year-old has already played nine Tests, three ODIs and six T20Is for Pakistan, and he returns to the Test setup in serious form. He starred in the President's Trophy Grade-I final with 7 for 32 and a valuable 55 with the bat. A pace-bowling all-rounder who can change a game in either discipline is exactly the kind of cricketer a home Test side wants.
Muhammad Tayyab Arif — the form batter. He has scored 727 runs in seven first-class matches at an average of 66.09, including three centuries. Numbers like that cannot be ignored, whatever your age or reputation. If he plays in Rawalpindi, he walks in as the in-form batter in the country.
Ali Shabbir — the 19-year-old quick. He has claimed 22 wickets in eight first-class matches, and at 19 he is the youngest face in this squad. Picking a teenager for a home Test series is a statement of trust in the domestic pathway.
Saqib Khan — the workhorse. He finished among the leading wicket-takers in the 2025-26 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy with 47 wickets in nine matches at an average of 20.60. That is a full season of sustained pressure, not one good game.

Babar Azam batting in Sri Lanka during the 2nd Test in July 2023

File photo: Babar Azam batting against Sri Lanka in July 2023 — Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Two Players Released

Ali Usman and Abdullah Fazal, both named in the initial squad, have been released. That tells me the first squad was always provisional — the selectors kept their options open until the practice match was done, then made the final call. It is a hard outcome for the two released players, but it is also honest selection: the practice game was effectively a trial, and the trio who impressed there got the nod.

Why This News Matters

Three debutants in one squad update, two days before a Test, is a bold move — and I think it is the right kind of bold. Pakistan sit at the bottom of the World Test Championship 2025-27 table, with Sri Lanka seventh, so this home series is not a free hit. Every point matters, and the selectors have chosen domestic form over reputation. Tayyab's 727 runs at 66.09, Saqib's 47 wickets at 20.60, Ali's 22 wickets at 19 — those are not token picks. They are the best numbers in the country right now.

There is risk in it, of course. Sri Lanka arrive confident after beating the Patron's XI by 142 runs in the warm-up, and a debutant's first Test against an international attack is a different world from domestic cricket. But the alternative — sticking with a settled squad that has not been winning — was not working either. This is a selection panel backing the players who are actually performing, and I would rather see that than another safe, familiar squad.

What It Means for Rawalpindi

Jamal's return matters most for the balance of the side. He gives Babar Azam a genuine fourth seam option and a lower-order batter who has already shown he can score Test runs — remember his debut series in Australia, where he took 18 wickets in three Tests. On a Rawalpindi pitch that is expected to offer the quicks something early on, having Jamal, Mohammad Abbas and two fresh young fast bowlers in the squad gives Pakistan real options about how they attack. The question now is who actually makes the XI on Monday, and whether the selectors trust a debutant with the new ball or keep the new faces as cover.

Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in 2025

Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, where the first Test begins on Monday, 9 November — Wikimedia Commons

Pakistan v Sri Lanka Test Series Schedule

First Test: 9–13 November, Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium
Second Test: 17–21 November, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Both matches are part of the ICC World Test Championship 2025–27 cycle.

Our Analysis

Here is how I read this. The PCB has effectively admitted that the first squad was a draft, and the practice match was the real selection meeting. That is a healthier way to pick a team than naming 14 names and defending them regardless of form — but it only works if the debutants are genuinely ready, and we will find out on Monday. My eye is on Tayyab Arif above all: a batter averaging 66.09 with three hundreds in seven games is the kind of form that can carry straight into Test cricket, and if he gets a game, the middle order suddenly looks much stronger. Saqib Khan's 47 wickets at 20.60 is the other number that jumps out — that is a bowler who takes wickets in clusters, and Pakistan have missed that in home Tests. The gamble is Ali Shabbir at 19, but young fast bowlers with 22 wickets in eight games do not come around every season.

One caution: do not judge this squad on the first morning in Rawalpindi. New players need a session to settle, and Sri Lanka's batters will test them. Judge it at the end of the series, when we know whether domestic form travelled. For now, though, the message from the selectors is clear — perform in domestic cricket and the door is open, whatever your name is. That is the right message for Pakistan cricket.

Conclusion

Pakistan's Test squad for Sri Lanka is now 16 strong, with Aamer Jamal back and three new faces — Muhammad Tayyab Arif, Ali Shabbir and Saqib Khan — earning their first call-ups on the weight of domestic performances. Ali Usman and Abdullah Fazal make way. The first Test starts on Monday, 9 November in Rawalpindi, and the team that walks out will tell us how much of this bold selection actually makes the XI. Stay updated with NajamSports.online for the latest cricket news, match reports and analysis.

Pakistan Add Aamer Jamal and Three Debutants to Sri Lanka Test Squad