Three first-class hundreds in his debut season, most of them as captain, have taken the right-hander from Pakistan’s Under-19 side to a rebuilt Test squad facing Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi and Lahore.
LAHORE: Muhammad Tayyab Arif made his first-class debut less than two months ago. On Saturday, the 20-year-old Sialkot batter was named in Pakistan’s Test squad for the two-match series against Sri Lanka, one of three uncapped players added on the eve of the first Test in Rawalpindi.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) added Arif, fast bowlers Ali Shabbir and Saqib Khan, and recalled all-rounder Aamer Jamal, while releasing batter Ali Usman and Abdullah Fazal. The board cited strong domestic performances as the reason for the additions.
A debut season to remember
Arif’s case rests on one remarkable domestic season. Playing for Kingsmen Academy in the President’s Trophy Grade-I, Pakistan’s departmental first-class competition, he scored 727 runs in seven matches at an average of 66.09, with three centuries. He made his first-class debut as captain.
His hundreds included 122 against Ghani Glass in Sheikhupura in mid-October and a 110-ball 120 against State Bank of Pakistan at the National Ground in Islamabad. Arif hit 17 fours and two sixes in that innings, his second century in a row, which allowed Kingsmen to declare quickly on the final day and push for a result.
Only Mohammad Taha, who is also in the Test squad, scored more runs in the competition, finishing on 730, three ahead of Arif.
From Sialkot to the Under-19s
Born in Sialkot on October 11, 2006, Arif came through the city’s age-group cricket and the Central Punjab and Sialkot Region youth teams before playing for Pakistan Under-19s. He played for them against Afghanistan in Dubai in November 2024 and in the Under-19 Asia Cup against Japan the following month.
His white-ball record is still slight: two senior Twenty20 matches, for Engro Dolphins and Sialkot Region, with nine runs in total. Arif’s case is built on long innings in red-ball cricket.
Sialkot, best known for its sports-goods and surgical-instrument exporters, has a long cricketing tradition that includes former Pakistan captains Zaheer Abbas and Shoaib Malik. Arif is the latest Sialkot batter to reach the Test squad.
Hesson Backs Arif as Pakistan Focus on Developing Young Test Talent
Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson, who took charge of the Test side in a September overhaul, praised Arif’s performance in the President’s Trophy, telling PCB Digital that he had performed very well in the domestic competition.
Hesson said the aim over the coming year was to prepare promising young players for Test cricket, and that the new players had an excellent chance to learn, improve and prove themselves at the highest level.
Arif’s last outing before selection was more modest. Playing for a PCB Patron’s XI against the Sri Lankans in a three-day match at the Islamabad Club this week, he scored 30 in a first-innings total of 151 for eight declared.
A squad in transition
Arif joins a squad in the middle of a major overhaul. Senior wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, former captain Shan Masood and spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali all missed out, and Babar Azam leads a group with six newcomers: batters Mohammad Taha, Saad Baig, Sameer Minhas and Arif, and fast bowlers Saqib Khan and Ali Shabbir. Veteran seamer Mohammad Abbas, who equalled a Wasim Akram record at Edgbaston, remains in the squad.
The squad is: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Ali Shabbir, Arafat Minhas, Azan Awais, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Suleman, Mohammad Taha, Muhammad Tayyab Arif, Razaullah, Saad Baig (wicketkeeper), Salman Ali Agha, Sameer Minhas, Saqib Khan and Saud Shakeel.
Arif Faces Tough Competition for Test Debut
A call-up does not guarantee a debut. With Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Salman Agha and Azan Awais in the top and middle order, and Taha also pushing for a place, Arif may have to wait. Seven first-class matches are also a small sample. The step up from departmental cricket to Test bowling is large, and critics have long said Pakistan pick young batters on the strength of one domestic season without giving them a sustained run.
Supporters of the selection argue that Pakistan need to start building for the next World Test Championship cycle now, and that a 20-year-old averaging 66 in his first season deserves exposure to the dressing room even if he does not play. That debate over how Pakistan develops its cricketers has run through the season.
Next stop, possibly Lahore
The first Test begins in Rawalpindi on Monday, November 9, and runs until November 13. The second Test is in Lahore from November 17 to 21. If Arif does not get a chance in Rawalpindi, Lahore crowds may yet see one of Punjab’s newest batting prospects make his Test debut a few hours’ drive from home.
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