Pakistan skipper Babar Azam hailed the entire unit for their triumph against Sri Lanka in the two-match Test series after clinching the series on Day 4 of the second Test match at the Sinhalese Sports Club on Thursday.
Pakistan batter Sarfaraz Ahmed was injured during the second Test against Sri Lanka after being struck on the head by a bouncer on Wednesday and was replaced by Mohammad Rizwan
Pakistan inched closer to breaking their winless streak in Test matches as their spinners put on a remarkable display, restricting Sri Lanka to a score of 279 on Day 4 of the first Test at the Galle International Stadium on Wednesday.
Saud Shakeel's double ton has put Pakistan in a strong position with hopes of ending their winless streak that has lasted for six Tests now against Sri Lanka on Day 3 of the first Test at Galle International Stadium.
"Really excited to be back in red-ball format and all eyes are on the Galle Test as we are prepared and ready for the challenge," the Pakistan skipper said ahead of the series as quoted by ICC.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has written to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the country's Interior and the Foreign Ministry for official clearance to travel to India for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in October-November, according to ESPNcricinfo.
The two-match Test series will mark the opening round of fixtures for both Sri Lanka and Pakistan in their World Test Championship 2023-25 campaign. Galle and Colombo have been shortlisted as the two venues, with the matches to be played between July 16 to 28, as per ICC.
South Africa's tour will start with a three-match T20I series between 1 and 5 September. This will be followed by the ODI series between 8 and 14 September, with the matches being a part of the ICC Women's Championship 2022-25.
Pakistan's Fakhar Zaman has been voted the ICC Men's Player of the Month after a stunning month in April. Prabath Jayasuriya and Mark Chapman were also in the race but Fakhar emerged as the most promising of all.
Notably, Latham was leading the Blackcap as a stand-in captain in the absence of Williamson. He was also captaining the side in the tour of Pakistan where they tied the T20I series by 2-2 and claimed the ODI series by 4-1.