Everything you need to know as Test cricket returns to Pakistan for the first time since 2009, with Mickey Arthur's Sri Lanka side visiting for fixtures in Rawalpindi and Karachi
Test cricket returns to Pakistan for the first time in more than a decade as Sri Lanka round off their all-formats tour of the country with World Test Championship fixtures in Rawalpindi and Karachi.
Honours are even so far, with Pakistan having swept the ODI portion of the tour before the visitors took the T20 series 3-0. However, with the hosts having just returned from a miserable Test series in Australia, Sri Lanka will sense an early opportunity to seize momentum.
FIRST MATCH: Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium (Wednesday, December 11 to Sunday, December 15, 10am local time, 5am GMT)
SECOND MATCH: National Stadium, Karachi (Thursday, December 19 to Monday, December 23, 10am local time, 5am GMT)
Pakistan's two-match series in Australia was their first red-ball outing since the World Test Championship began in August, and new head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq could hardly have had a tougher introduction to his roles.
Australia took both matches by an innings, with the visitors' batting suffering a battering at the hands of Mitchell Starc – who claimed 14 wickets across the two matches, including 6-66 in the first innings in Adelaide – and bowlers rendered toothless by Marnus Labuschagne and David Warner, who scored centuries in both games and came away with a player of the match gong each after career-best scores of 185 and 335 not out respectively.
However, a few positives did just about shine through from the dismal scorecards. Yasir Shah tallied a spectacular maiden Test hundred in Adelaide after coming to the crease at 89 for 6, and limited-overs superstar Babar Azam had previously applied himself well to reach 104 at The Gabba as he and new wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan (95) fought valiantly, eventually falling five short of giving their bowlers another chance.
Wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan was one player to impress during Pakistan's struggles in Australia
Headlines ahead of that series surrounded Naseem Shah, the novice tearaway who remains with the squad despite being named in Pakistan's side for next year's Under-19 World Cup, and who played in place of usual attack leader Mohammad Abbas in the opening Test. Home chances will likely rely on Abbas replicating his "home" form – the seamer has 27 wickets from the six matches he has played with Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates – and pressure will be on new captain Azhar Ali, who has now gone over 12 months without reaching a Test fifty.
However, this series represents a completely new challenge for the entire squad, as no member of it has previously played a Test match in front of a home crowd. That means key players like Shaheen Shah Afridi and Yasir Shah will finally have an opportunity to demonstrate their abilities in the best possible environment on the game's largest stage, and for that reason the formbook can almost certainly be thrown out of the window.
Despite two heavy defeats at the hands of Australia last time out, Misbah has elected against making further substantial changes, with just two players added to the side for their return to home soil.
After scoring 781 runs in this season's Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, including centuries in three of his last four innings, veteran Karachi batsman Fawad Alam comes into the squad over 10 years removed from the most recent of his three Test appearances. His belated recall follows Iftikhar Ahmed returning from the tour of Australia with just 44 runs to his name.
Alam is joined in the squad by uncapped left-arm seamer Usman Shinwari, who is selected following the wicketless Adelaide debut of 19-year-old Muhammad Musa.
Squad: Azhar Ali (c), Mohammad Abbas, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fawad Alam, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Kashif Bhatti, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan, Shan Masood, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Asad Shafiq, Naseem Shah, Yasir Shah, Usman Shinwari, Haris Sohail
Fawad Alam returns to the Pakistan setup after most recently featuring in white-ball cricket in 2015
The visitors will count themselves perhaps the biggest beneficiaries of the PCB's decision to sack Mickey Arthur after three years at the helm of the national side, with the former Australia coach now appointed Sri Lanka's boss and knowing his first opponents inside and out. Arthur has been given a two-year contract, and is joined by a coaching staff now including former Zimbabwe batsman Grant Flower and David Saker, who previously served as bowling coach for England and Australia.
Sri Lanka's squad was announced prior to Arthur's appointment, meaning the new coach inherits a side largely unchanged from that which drew 1-1 with New Zealand in their World Test Championship opener in August. That means there is likely again to be place for the veteran Angelo Mathews in the visitors' middle-order, and captain Dimuth Karunaratne will be keen to replicate the form that saw him lead either side with 247 runs across that series.
However, Arthur's squad depth will be severely tested in the bowling department. Suranga Lakmal misses out having contracted Dengue fever, with uncapped seamer Asitha Fernando a last-minute addition in his place, while Akila Dananjaya is an enforced change after being issued a 12-month ban from bowling in the international game in September.
Pressure will therefore increase on paceman Lasith Embuldeniya, who claimed five first-innings wickets on debut during Sri Lanka's famous one-wicket win over South Africa in Durban in February, and Dananjaya's absence has made room for Kasun Rajitha to return to the side for the first time since that tour.
Squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Lasith Embuldeniya, Asitha Fernando, Oshada Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Mendis, Dilruwan Perera, Kusal Perera, Kasun Rajitha, Lakshan Sandakan, Lahiru Thirimanne
Akila Dananjaya, who claimed six wickets in Sri Lanka's last Test win, misses out after receiving a 12-month ban from bowling in international cricket
The opening Test is set to see the sun on the first day, however rain threatens to interrupt the cooler days two and three in Rawalpindi.
Forecasts for the Karachi fixture are far more promising, with plenty of sunshine promised throughout and temperatures consistently sitting above the 25 degree mark.
Those in Pakistan will be able to watch live coverage on PTV Sports, however no broadcast arrangements have yet been announced for UK viewers.
Pakistan are currently favourites to take the opening Test, with Dafabet offering 17/20 for the hosts to claim honours in Rawalpindi. Sri Lanka and the draw are both available at 14/5.
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