Mohammad 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 due to be played on Friday.
He has piled up 407 runs in four innings at an average of 203 ahead of the three-Test series that begins 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 Mohammad Talha, who played his only 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, Mohammad Hafeez, Khurrum Manzoor, Ahmed Shahzad, Shaan Masood, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Adnan Akmal, Junaid Khan, Rahat Ali, Umar Gul, Mohammad Talha, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman.