Babar Azam gets his wish as Hasan Ali returns for Pakistan's Test series vs NZ

Depleted Pakistan recalled fast bowler Hasan Ali on Wednesday for its home test series against New Zealand.

Uncapped batter Kamran Ghulam was also included in the 16-member squad in place of Azhar Ali, who has retired from test cricket.

The first of two tests starts Monday in Karachi.

The 28-year-old Hasan, who has taken 77 wickets in 21 tests, was dropped for the home series against England after picking up just five wickets in his last four test matches against Australia and Sri Lanka in 2022.

An aggressive England swept Pakistan 3-0 in its first test tour to the country in 17 years on Tuesday as Pakistan struggled in the absence of key fast bowlers Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah.

Afridi was ruled out before the series against England because of a knee injury while Haris and Naseem were both injured during the first test at Rawalpindi.

Naseem has now recovered from a shoulder niggle and was recalled for the series against the Black Caps. The second test will be played at Multan from Jan. 3-7, followed by three one-day internationals at Karachi.

Fast bowler Mohammad Ali was dropped from the test squad after picking up four wickets in his debut test against England at Rawalpindi and ending up wicketless in the second game before being left out of the final test.

Pakistan has kept faith in its spin trio of Abrar Ahmed — who took 11-234 in his debut test at Multan and another six wickets at Karachi — Zahid Mehmood and Nauman Ali. Allrounder Mohammad Nawaz gives Pakistan another spin option.

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Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Agha Salman, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood, Zahid Mehmood.