Babar Azam's New Pakistan Begins at Rawalpindi — and Sri Lanka Have Already Shown They Know These Grounds

The numbers from England were not kind. Pakistan lost at Headingley by an innings and 103 runs, at Lord's by 194, and at Edgbaston by eight wickets. That 3-0 came only weeks after a split series in the Caribbean, where West Indies won the first Test by 90 runs and Pakistan levelled with an eight-wicket win in the second. In the World Test Championship table, Pakistan have two wins and seven defeats from nine matches. They are bottom.

So the selectors have done what selectors do after a summer like that. Babar Azam leads the side. Shan Masood, captain until recently, is not in the squad. Abdullah Shafique, who made an unbeaten 160 at Port of Spain and then only 84 runs in six innings in England, is out too, and so are the spin pair Sajid Khan and Noman Ali, who did so much of the winning on home pitches not long ago.

In their place come three uncapped batters from the domestic first-class season. Mohammad Taha, a 26-year-old left-hander, was the leading run-scorer in the President's Trophy Grade-I with 730 runs in seven matches. Mohammad Suleman made 652 in the same competition. Sameer Minhas scored 405 runs in seven matches in his first season of first-class cricket. It is a bet on form over reputation, and it may take a Test or two before anyone knows whether it was the right one.

Babar comes into the job with 568 runs in his last eight Tests at an average of 40.57. He carried an unbeaten 58 through a collapse in the first Test against West Indies, and the batting around him has often looked as if it was waiting for him to do something. Captaincy changes that. He will now have to set fields for others and still be the man who bats long, and history suggests that is not always an easy pairing.

Saud Shakeel is the other batter who came out of England with credit. He made 97 at Lord's in a match that was already gone, the sort of innings that says a lot about a player's temperament. Salman Agha (415 runs in his last eight Tests) gives the middle order a bit of spin bowling as well as runs.

With the ball, Mohammad Abbas is the constant: 31 wickets in his last six Tests at an economy of 2.88. He removed Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay for nought apiece at Edgbaston. On a Rawalpindi morning, with some moisture in the surface and a new ball in his hand, he is the bowler Sri Lanka's top order will have spent the week thinking about. Ali Usman (12 wickets in four Tests) and Razaullah are the other front-line bowlers in the squad, and two more fast bowlers from the PCB Patron's XI were due to be added after the tour game. Their names had not been confirmed at the time of writing.

A possible XI, and it is only that: Abdullah Fazal, Azan Awais, Mohammad Taha, Babar Azam (capt), Saud Shakeel, Salman Agha, Ghazi Ghori (wk), Arafat Minhas, Mohammad Abbas, Ali Usman, Razaullah. If the two added pacers are fit and the pitch looks green, one of them could come in for a batter, and Sameer Minhas or Mohammad Suleman could get the nod ahead of Taha.

Sri Lanka are seventh in the WTC table, with one win and two defeats from six Tests. Their year has been uneven. West Indies beat them by an innings and 217 runs in June, and India won the first Test of the August series by 165 runs. But the second Test against India showed what this side can be. Sri Lanka batted out the last day to draw, finishing on 429 for 9 declared, with Sonal Dinusha unbeaten on 133.

Dinusha has 606 runs in five Tests at an average of 86.57. Dinesh Chandimal has 671 runs in his last nine at 41.94. Along with Kusal Mendis, who captains, Kamindu Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva, that is a middle order with experience of batting long in Asian conditions.

The bowling has a familiar leader. Prabath Jayasuriya has 37 wickets in his last nine Tests, at an economy of 3.16. He will bowl a lot of overs if the Rawalpindi surface dries out. Asitha Fernando (33 wickets in nine Tests) leads the seam, with Dilshan Madushanka, Lahiru Kumara, Eshan Malinga and Milan Rathnayaka as options. Madushanka has 11 ODI wickets on this tour already.

Sri Lanka also have the advantage of time in the country. They have been in Pakistan since early October, playing three T20Is and an ODI tri-series in Rawalpindi and Lahore, and won the three-day game against the PCB Patron's XI in Islamabad by 142 runs (223 for 7 declared and 181, against 151 for 8 declared and 111). Several of the Pakistan Test squad played for that Patron's XI.

A possible XI: Anjala Bandara, Lahiru Udara, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Mendis (capt, wk), Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sonal Dinusha, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka, Lahiru Kumara. Who keeps wicket, and whether Sri Lanka pick a second spinner such as Keshara Nuwantha, will probably depend on what they see on the surface on the morning of the match.

Rawalpindi has been many kinds of pitch in recent years: very flat at times, dry and turning when Pakistan wanted it to be. The squad gives a hint of what the hosts may want this time. Leaving out Sajid Khan and Noman Ali, and adding two fast bowlers, suggests Pakistan expect, or would like, a surface with a bit more for the seamers. That is a reading of the selection, not a pitch report, and the groundstaff's last few days of work will matter.

November in the north of Pakistan brings cool mornings and short days. Play is scheduled from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM local time, with lunch from 11:30 to 12:10 and tea from 2:10 to 2:30. The first hour, when the ball is new and the air is cool, may be the best time to bowl all match. Bad light at the end of the day is a real possibility. The captain who wins the toss will have to weigh first-morning help for the seamers against batting last on a pitch that may wear and turn.

	Pakistan	Sri Lanka
WTC 2025-27 record	P9 W2 L7 (9th)	P6 W1 L2 (7th)
Last Test	Lost to England by 8 wickets, Edgbaston	Drew with India (429/9 dec on day 5)
Leading batter (recent)	Babar Azam: 568 runs, avg 40.57	Dinesh Chandimal: 671 runs, avg 41.94
Leading bowler (recent)	Mohammad Abbas: 31 wkts in 6 Tests	Prabath Jayasuriya: 37 wkts in 9 Tests

Last five Tests between the sides: Pakistan won by an innings and 222 runs (July 2023), Pakistan won by 4 wickets (July 2023), Sri Lanka won by 246 runs (July 2022), Pakistan won by 4 wickets (July 2022), Pakistan won by 263 runs (December 2019).