Pakistan will step into a new Test era without retired batting greats Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq when they take on Sri Lanka in the first Test in Abu Dhabi from tomorrow. Playing without Younis and Misbah is unaccustomed territory for Pakistan, who haven’t had a Test featuring neither of the talismanic, prolific pair in seven years.
It comes as they prepare to welcome the return of full international cricket to their home country next month, when Sri Lanka visit for a Twenty20 game in Lahore. Together, Younis and Misbah have appeared in 193 Tests, accumulating 15,331 runs, 44 centuries and 15 century stands between them, briefly lifting the team to the top of the Test rankings in August last year.
They have dominated the batting at Pakistan’s venues in United Arab Emirates (UAE), where they have been forced to play home games since a deadly terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in 2009.
The pair made Pakistan so invincible that they have not lost any of the nine series they have played in UAE, with new captain Sarfraz Ahmed admitting it will be tough to replace them.
“Obviously, it’s not easy to fill the void they left as they were the backbone of our batting,” said Ahmed. “Their contributions were immense but now we have to move on.”
Younis is not only Pakistan’s highest Test runs scorer, with 10,099, but the slips fielding specialist also holds the national record of 139 catches in 118 Tests.
Misbah’s calm influence as a batsman, as well as skipper, will also be tough to replace.
 
Sri Lanka fightback
Fast-rising batsman Babar Azam at four and Haris Sohail, who is yet to play a Test, will attempt to fill the void, while Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq will also be expected to play a leading role. Ali was in doubt for the first Test after suffering a knee injury but he has since responded well to treatment, while Yasir Shah will lead the spin attack in a squad with five fast bowlers.
Shah, who took 24 wickets in Pakistan’s 2-1 series win in Sri Lanka two years ago, will be assisted by uncapped spinners Mohammad Asghar and Bilal Asif. Sri Lanka, who lost 3-0 at home to India last month, will be looking to right the ship after a torrid run of results which has had the media and fans on their back. But they will be without their key all-rounder and former captain Angelo Mathews, who has been ruled out of the first Test with a calf strain.
Skipper Dinesh Chandimal believes his team will have to be at their best to beat Pakistan, despite the lack of their two long serving players.
“Pakistan will definitely miss Misbah and Younis but we will not underestimate the youngsters they have and (we) have to be at our best to beat them,” he said. Sri Lanka will be buoyed by the return of their pace spearheads Nuwan Pradeep and Suranga Lakmal, who suffered injuries last month. But their main hope of winning the two-match series looks likely to hinge on veteran left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, who has 90 wickets in 19 Tests against Pakistan.

Squads 
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (capt), Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Mohamed Asghar, Bilal Asif, Mir Hamza, Mohamed Amir, Hasan Ali, Mohamed Abbas, Wahab Riaz.
Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne (vice-capt), Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Roshen Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Rangana Herath, Lakshan Sandakan, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Gamage.

Players face sending-off, umpires to get bat gauge
Players could be sent off for the first time in cricket, starting with Test matches in South Africa and the United Arab Emirates this week, as new regulations come into force. 
Changes governing umpire referrals and bat sizes will also come into force Thursday when South Africa host Bangladesh and Sri Lanka play Pakistan in Abu Dhabi, said the sport’s governing body the International Cricket Council.
The Decision Review System (DRS) - in which a TV umpire reviews decisions made by umpires on the field - will be allowed in Twenty20 internationals after its success in Test and one-day matches.
Under the new rules, a player can now be sent off for the rest of the match for serious misconduct. This could include threatening to assault an umpire, making inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with an umpire, assaulting a player or any other person and any other act of violence. 
To maintain the balance between bat and ball, there are new restrictions on the size of bat edges and its thickness. 
The permitted length and width of bats remains unchanged but the edges cannot be more than 40mm thick and the overall depth is limited to 67mm. Umpires will use a new gauge to check legality. The ICC said all changes “will be applicable across all (three) formats”.
“Most of the changes to the ICC playing conditions are being made as a result of changes to the laws of cricket that have been announced by the MCC,” ICC general manager Geoff Allardyce said in a statement.
“We have just completed a workshop with the umpires to ensure they understand all of the changes and we are now ready to introduce the new playing conditions to international matches.”
If a team refers an umpire’s decision to the TV umpire and the on-field decision remains unchanged because the DRS shows “umpire’s call”, the team will not lose that review. But teams will now have only two unsuccessful reviews for the entire innings of a Test. Previously the unsuccessful reviews were replenished after the first 80 overs.