ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan named two uncapped spinners in its 18-man squad to face titleholder South Africa next month at the start of its World Test Championship cycle.

The 38-year-old spin allrounder Asif Afridi and wrist spinner Faisal Akram were picked in an expanded squad on Tuesday. It will be trimmed closer to the first test in Lahore starting on Oct. 12. Rawalpindi hosts the second test from Oct. 20-24.

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Afridi has 198 wickets in 57 first-class games while Akram, since his first-class debut in 2023, has 44 wickets in nine games.

Test regulars retained included off-spinner Sajid Khan, left-arm spinner Noman Ali and leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed.

Despite finishing at the bottom of the WTC table in the last cycle, Pakistan kept Shan Masood as the captain.

A training camp for the test squad began in Lahore on Tuesday and will run until Oct. 8. Abrar, Hasan Ali, Salman Ali Agha and Shaheen Shah Afridi, who all participated in the Asia Cup, will join the camp on Saturday.

Also picked was 23-year-old uncapped wicketkeeper-batter Rohail Nazir as backup for Mohammad Rizwan.

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The test series will be followed by three Twenty20s, one in Rawalpindi and two in Lahore. Faisalabad will host all the three ODIs.

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Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Kamran Ghulam, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Rizwan, Abrar Ahmed, Asif Afridi, Faisal Akram, Hasan Ali, Khurram Shahzad, Aamir Jamal, Noman Ali, Rohail Nazir, Sajid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket