Four Fifties, Four Debutants: Pakistan Make Solid Start Against Sri Lanka | Pakistan and Sri Lanka’s two-match Test series began on 9 November 2026 at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, with Pakistan handing Test caps to four debutants. Pakistan reached 281 for 5 in 67.2 overs before bad light forced an early close to the day’s play.
Four Pakistan batters made half-centuries, including debutants Tayyab Arif and Mohammad Taha; Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel were the other two. At stumps, Saud Shakeel was unbeaten on 57, with Ghazi Ghori on 7 not out alongside him.
For Sri Lanka, Asitha Fernando was the pick of the bowlers with two wickets, while Madushanka, Rathnayaka and Dinusha took one each.
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The four debuts in this match took Pakistan’s total for 2026 to 12, the second-most Test debutants Pakistan have handed out in a single year. The record is 14, set in 1952, Pakistan’s first year of Test cricket. The 12 players to make their Test debut for Pakistan in 2026 are:
- Azan Awais
- Abdullah Fazal
- Ghazi Ghori
- Mohammad Imran Randhawa
- Razaullah
- Ali Usman
- Awais Zafar
- Ubaid Shah
- Tayyab Arif
- Mohammad Taha
- Arafat Minhas
- Saqib Khan
The debutants are a breath of fresh air in Pakistan’s Test squad, but it will be interesting to see how many of them become regulars in the long run.
Another record that fell today: Tayyab Arif’s 46-ball half-century is the second-fastest by a Pakistan batter on Test debut. The record belongs to Razaullah, who hit a 43-ball fifty on debut in England earlier this year.
