In-form Hafeez earns Pakistan Test recall

(REUTERS) – Muhammad Hafeez has been recalled to Pakistan’s Test squad following his prolific form in the one-day series against Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates.

Hafeez has scored three centuries in the first four one-day matches with the fifth and final match being played yesterday, piling up 407 runs in four innings at an average of 203 ahead of the three-Test series that runs from December 31 in Abu Dhabi.
The national T20 captain lost his place in the Test side because of poor form when Pakistan played against South Africa in the UAE in October.
Pakistan’s selectors kept faith with out-of-form Younus Khan, although the former captain was dropped for the one-day series.
Experienced pace bowler Umar Gul is back in the Test fold after making an impressive comeback in the one-day series against Sri Lanka, taking six wickets in two games.
Gul was out of cricket for nearly eight months after undergoing knee surgery in May.
Fast bowler Muhammad Talha, who played his lone match for Pakistan in the abandoned second Test against Sri Lanka, at Lahore in March 2009, was a surprise name in the 15-man squad.

Squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Younus Khan, Muhammad Hafeez, Khurrum Manzoor, Ahmed Shehzad, Shaan Masood, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Adnan Akmal, Junaid Khan, Rahat Ali, Umar Gul, Muhammad Talha, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman.