Pakistan looks to youngsters to beat Sri Lanka in first test

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — Bottom-placed Pakistan hopes to find a pool of promising young players for the next World Test Championship cycle when it takes on Sri Lanka in the first cricket test on Monday.

Pakistan has won only two of the nine test matches in this WTC cycle that included its chaotic 3-0 loss in England and a 2-0 drubbing at the hands of Bangladesh.

Seven players and two coaches were flown back home midway through the tour of England and of those only Salman Ali Agha has been recalled for the two-test home series against Sri Lanka, with selectors naming eight uncapped players in the squad of 16.

“After the England tour, we decided to take a different step and inject several new players,” Pakistan test captain Babar Azam said on the eve of the first test Sunday.

“We are almost out of this World Test Championship, (and) now we are looking forward to the next WTC and make preparations for it … we will give opportunities to youngsters to express themselves.”

The uncapped players include fast bowlers Ali Shabbir and Saqib Khan, all-rounder and player of the recent triangular ODI series Arafat Minhas, batters Mohammad Suleman, Mohammad Tayyab Arif, Mohammad Taha, Saad Baig and Sameer Minhas.

Seam bowling all-rounder Aamir Jamal was also recalled after his recent impressive domestic performances to team up with experienced seam bowler Mohammad Abbas and pace bowler Razullah.

“The intent is to build a vast and strong pool of players for both home and away conditions so that we can turn the tables in the next (WTC) cycle,” Babar said.

It has been 40 innings since Babar scored his last test century in December 2022, when he made 161 against New Zealand at Karachi. He even tried to regain his lost touch by playing in three domestic first-class cricket matches, but ended up with a top-score of 42 from six innings.

The closest Babar came to ending his century drought was at Port of Spain against the West Indies in August before he got was for 88 as Pakistan drew the two-test series 1-1 in Babar’s return as skipper of the test side.

“I know I am not performing,” admitted Babar. “If I sit out and don’t play, it won’t solve the problem. You can only improve if you continue to play. You will get results when you have belief in yourself. I am talking to the coaches and doing all the hard work.”

Sri Lanka’s new test captain Kusal Mendis, who replaced Dhananjaya de Silva as skipper in October, hoped his batters will come good on an expected pace-friendly green wicket prepared at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

Sri Lanka has been in Pakistan for more than a month, losing the T20 series 2-1 and the final of the ODI tri-series against the host, but returns to Rawalpindi where it chased down the second-highest ODI score of 430 against England in the tri-series.

“We know they will be giving a little bit different wicket,” Mendis said. “The batters have to manage our skills and preparation well. We have a very good batting line-up with some very senior players ... Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, myself, and a couple of other guys.”

The tourists had ideal preparation for the test matches when they beat Pakistan Cricket Board XI by 142 runs in a practice game in which Mendis and Lahiru Udara scored half-centuries.

“Overall, we’re on a very good path, and when coming to test cricket, we have to focus on our test game,” Mendis said. “It’s not easy to play tests away from home. I think Pakistan will give a very good wicket, and we have a plan in how (we want) to play.”

Sri Lanka is ranked No. 7 in the WTC points table, winning just one of its six test matches while drawing three and losing two. Lahore will host the second test from Nov. 17-21.

See AP’s full cricket coverage here

Ground staff give final touches to pitch prepare for the first test cricket matches between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Ground staff gives final touches to pitch prepare for the first test cricket matches between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Sri Lanka's captain Kusal Mendis speaks during a press conference ahead of the first test cricket match against Pakistan, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's captain Babar Azam gestures during a press conference ahead of the first test cricket match against Sri Lanka, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Pope Leo XIV is wrapping up his visit to Uruguay on Sunday by marking an important Catholic feast day that is tied to the country’s independence, capping his effort to draw attention to the role the church has played in Latin America’s most secular country.

Leo was traveling to the city of Florida, north of Montevideo, before heading to Argentina for the second leg of his three-nation tour of South America. It's expected to be the most politically delicate, given the Catholic Church's sharp criticisms of the austerity program of libertarian President Javier Milei.

For his final event in Uruguay, Leo was commemorating the feast of the Virgin of the Thirty-three. Every year, thousands of pilgrims flock to the city to pray before the small wooden icon of the Virgin Mary.

According to tradition, 33 independence patriots acquired the Guaraní statue and had it with them when independence was declared from the Brazilian empire in Florida on Aug. 25, 1825.

Leo became the first pope in nearly four decades to visit Uruguay, in hopes of reminding its people that the Catholic Church is part of their very identity as a nation — even if in subsequent decades the country went on a deeply secular, and at times anticlerical, route.

Leo was hoping to leave a final parting message before opening the second leg of his South American trip, which he went ahead with despite having undergone surgery Oct. 13 to remove a cancerous tumor from his lung. The final stop is in Peru, his second homeland.

Leo, 71, has appeared in fine form at his events, singing loudly, bounding up stairs and gamely greeting the crowds in his popemobile. He has not cut any events short, including those that have kept him out until past midnight Rome time.

“This visit will also serve to reinforce the image of Leo as a leader, not merely in a spiritual sense, but in a much broader capacity as a political leader and a widely recognized figure who, far from shying away from conflict or tension, offers a powerful perspective and commands a highly respected voice,” said Luis Bahamondes, a professor at the Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Chile.

Milei is due to meet Leo at the Buenos Aires airport and then the two will appear together for the traditional welcome ceremony and exchange of speeches. The encounter could be tense, given Milei’s austerity measures that have slashed social spending, and his embrace of artificial intelligence.

Milei’s sweeping spending cuts have greatly strained relations with Argentine church leaders, who have criticized his government for putting economic orthodoxy ahead of the needs of the poor.

Since taking office in December 2023, for example, Milei has slashed Argentina’s health care budget by 48% in real terms. Planned cuts to the public university system, which represents a near-universal point of pride in the crisis-prone country, sent students into the streets.

Much like its allies in the Trump administration, Milei's government has portrayed the cuts as part of a necessary reform process to remake Argentina’s troubled economy and eliminate fraud and waste in the federal bureaucracy.

According to official data, poverty in Argentina reached 32.3% of the population during the first half of 2026, representing about 15 million people.

Milei has also courted AI investment and data centers with promises of limited regulation. Leo has warned about the threats to humanity and the environment of the AI race and called for strict, internationally policed safeguards on its development.

In Argentina, Leo is very much completing unfinished business left by his predecessor, Pope Francis. The Argentine Jesuit, the former archbishop of Buenos Aires, never returned home during his 12-year pontificate, confounding friends and foes alike.

“There’s a lot of disagreement over Francis and his legacy in Argentina,” said David Lantigua, a theology professor and faculty fellow at the University of Notre Dame’s Kellogg Institute, which focuses especially on Latin American affairs.

Much of the polemics stems from his tenure in Buenos Aires, when the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was a sometimes divisive partisan figure in a politically polarized country. Bergoglio was a slum priest, who advocated for the poorest and most marginalized — the sector of Argentines who have been feeling Milei’s social spending cuts the most.

“I think we’ll see that kind of tension with Leo — that’s the ministry Francis left behind,” Lantigua said.

Leo, who spent two decades as a missionary priest in Peru ministering to poor people, is very much a pastor in Francis' image and owes his pontificate to the late pope.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Pope Leo XIV arrives too lead a vigil payer at Centenario Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Pope Leo XIV leads a vigil prayer at Centenario Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

Faithful listen to Pope Leo XIV leading a prayer vigil at Centenario Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Mazzarovich)

Pope Leo XIV leads a prayer vigil at Centenario Stadium in Montevideo, on the second day of his twelve-day apostolic journey to South America, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV is cheered by faithful as he arrives for a prayer vigil at Centenario Stadium in Montevideo, on the second day of his twelve-day apostolic journey to South America, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)