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Follow UsIt’s been eight long months since Pakistan last played a Test match, and a lot of drama has unfolded in Pakistan cricket since the team last played a red-ball game.
But after a 217-day hiatus, the focus shifts to Tests again for Pakistan, who earlier today (August 7th) announced a 17-man squad for the two-Test series against Bangladesh.
While the likes of Imam-ul-Haq and Faheem Ashraf have been left out, the Men in Green have picked two new faces in Muhammad Hurraira and Kamran Ghulam, both of whom have been absolutely tearing it apart in first-class cricket, resulting in much-deserved call-ups.
Here’s a low-down on both the new faces.
A right-handed opening batter who loves scoring big, Muhammad Hurraira is the definition of a run-machine.
The 22-year-old, who featured in the 2020 U-19 World Cup, has amassed a staggering 3,213 runs since his first-class debut in October 2021, at an average of 53.55. Among Pakistanis, only Shan Masood (3,623) has scored more runs in red-ball cricket in the same period.
Hurraira began his career by smashing back-to-back tons in just the third and fourth innings of his career, representing Northern (Pakistan).
However, it was in the clash against Balochistan in Karachi in December 2021 that the right-hander shot to the limelight, smashing a stunning 311 off just 343 balls. Just 19 back then, Hurraira became the second-youngest Pakistani batter to score a first-class triple century after Javed Miandad.
He eventually finished the 2021 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy as the highest run-getter in the competition, amassing 986 runs in his maiden season.
In the following season, Hurraira backed up the stellar maiden campaign with a 1,024-run season, where he smashed four hundreds. He was the only player in the season to breach the 1,000-run barrier. Once again, he made a habit of converting his hundreds into daddy hundreds, registering three scores over 165, including a 221 against Sindh.
Hurraira only averaged 33.07 in the 2023 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, smashing no tons, but his call-up comes on the back of a smashing 218 against Bangladesh ‘A’ representing Pakistan ‘A’ in Darwin.
Notably, this is not the 22-year-old’s first call-up to the Test squad. He was in the squad for the Sri Lanka tour last year, but did not feature in a single game. It remains to be seen whether he will get the nod over Saim Ayub for the Bangladesh Tests.
Unlike Hurraira, Kamran Ghulam is not a new kid on the block. He is 28 years old and has been playing professionally for more than a decade. He’s already made one appearance for Pakistan, in an ODI against New Zealand last year, although he did not bat or bowl in that.
That call-up came on the back of a stellar season for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2022 in List A cricket, batting at No.3, for whom he amassed 966 runs at an average of 64.4 and a strike rate of 92.00.
Ghulam’s Test call-up has been a byproduct of his relentless run-scoring in first-class cricket. Since the start of 2023, the right-hander has amassed 1,055 runs at an average of 55.53, predominantly batting at No.4 but also batting at both No.3 and No.5.
In fact, since September 2023, Ghulam has smashed seven hundreds in 13 first-class matches, with five hundreds coming in 2024 alone.
One of these five hundreds came in the ‘A’ series against Bangladesh last month, where he smashed an unbeaten 100* in the first unofficial Test. In fact, in that particular contest, Ghulam, batting at No. 4, stitched together a 204-run stand with Hurraira.
Unlike Hurraira, though, Ghulam is a multi-dimensional cricketer; he bowls left-arm spin.
The 28-year-old has, in total, taken 31 wickets in first-class cricket. Admittedly, however, a vast majority of these wickets came before 2020, with him having picked just three wickets in the last four years.
Ghulam, did, however, bowl in the second unofficial Test against Bangladesh ‘A’, where he registered figures of 4.3-2-6-2 in the first innings.
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