Noman collected a 10-wicket haul during Pakistan's 93-run triumph over South Africa in Lahore recently and moved up four places.
Pakistan beat England by 152 runs in the second Test in Multan on Friday to level the three-match series at 1-1.
Mitchell Starc, who picked up 26 wickets in four matches with an average of 17.42, has moved one rung up to share the second spot with Pakistan spinner Noman Ali.
Afridi's selection means that the team management has opted to play two left-arm spinners in the second Test as he will pair with Noman Ali, who is already established and also picked up a 10-wicket haul in Pakistan's 94-run win in the first game in Lahore.
The Pakistan Cricket Board in a bid to attract more crowds to the Test match have for the first time announced free entry for several enclosures.
South Africa romped to an eight-wicket win over Pakistan on the fourth day of the second Test on Thursday, claiming victory before lunch to level the two-match series.
Pakistan moved themselves into a strong position, needing eight wickets to win while South Africa are chasing an imposing target as the first Test headed for an exciting conclusion.
Pakistan secured a 93-run victory over South Africa on the fourth day of the first Test, taking the eight wickets needed on Wednesday to go 1-0 up in the two-match series in Lahore.
Pakistan secured a 93-run victory over South Africa on the fourth day of the first Test, taking the eight wickets needed on Wednesday to go 1-0 up in the two-match series in Lahore.
Pakistan collapsed from 362-5 to 378 all out as Muthusamy finished with Test best figures of 6-117.
This year's roster sees ten players each placed in Categories B, C, and D. Notably, no player has been selected for Category A in this cycle, the PCB said in a statement.
India's awe-inspiring batting depth will face a stern test against South Africa's quality spin attack in the first Test, starting in Kolkata on Friday.
Rishabh Pant, who hit two centuries in the Headingley Test, now trails top-ranked batter Joe Root by just 88 points.
West Indies were bowled out for 163 before they fought back to dismiss Pakistan for 154 shortly before the close of play.
Ali's five-wicket haul followed Khan's destructive spell through the visitors' top order, with the off-spinner taking four wickets in his first three overs to leave West Indies struggling at 22-4.
Pakistan needed 178 runs to win the second Test and sweep the series
Pakistan have made four changes to the side for the second Test against England after resting senior cricketers including former captain Babar Azam from the rest of the series.
Jasprit Bumrah continues to dominate the ICC Test bowling rankings, retaining his position as the No. 1 bowler.
Gongadi Trisha was the player of the ICC women's Under-19 T20 World Cup, scoring 309 runs, including a hundred, while picking up seven wickets.
Pakistan beat England by nine wickets in the deciding third Test to win the series 2-1 in Rawalpindi on Saturday.
West Indies secured their first Test win in Pakistan since 1990 after beating the hosts by 120 runs in the second match.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 2nd Test played between Pakistan and England in Multan, on Thursday.
Jamie Smith smashed a counter-attacking 89 before England's bowlers made early inroads into the Pakistan line-up to drag the touring side back into the deciding third and final Test.
Babar Azam was dropped on Sunday, while the pace duo Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah opted to withdraw from the remaining two Tests against England.
India's Abhishek Sharma has surged to the second spot in the ICC Men's T20I Player Rankings for batters after a stunning 135-run innings in the fifth and final T20I against England.
Shaheen Afridi also missed the last two Tests against England in October.
Rishabh Pant on Wednesday overtook his superstar India teammate Virat Kohli to reach the sixth spot in the ICC Test rankings for batters.
Pakistan's Kamran Akmal identified technical problems that are affecting Babar Azam's recent slump in form
South Africa quick Kagiso Rabada has dethroned Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah as the top bowler in the latest ICC Men's Test Player Rankings released on Wednesday.
Ramiz Raja backed Babar Azam to come good in red-ball cricket, saying that he needs to show the world through his temperament that he is like the West Indies batting legend Vivian Richards.
Pakistan captain Shan Masood said his team showed tremendous character to register back-to-back victories against England and win their first Test series on home soil since 2021.
Pakistan captain Shan Masood termed their series-levelling victory in the second Test against England "special" as the hosts snapped their nearly four-year winless run on home soil in this format.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday demoted premier pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi to Category B from Category A, and did not offer central contracts to senior players Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed and Osama Mir for the 2024-25 season.
Saud Shakeel's crafty 134 fetched Pakistan a handy first-innings lead before their spinners blew away England's top order to boost their hopes of a memorable series victory on day two of the deciding third Test in Rawalpindi on Friday.
They are afraid of grass pitches: Basit Ali's surprising take on Pakistan batters ahead of England Test series
IMAGES from Day 2 of the second Test played between Pakistan and England in Multan on Wednesday.
Babar Azam's side had been in charge after claiming a handy first-innings lead of 149 in the first match of the two-Test series.
Pakistan have dropped plans to conduct "major surgery" on the national team as it included senior players Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi in the Test squad for the two-match series against Bangladesh.
Saim Ayub and Khurram Shahzad received their debut call-ups to Pakistan's squad for the three-match Test series against Australia.
Pakistan's experienced wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed laid out the team's plans to ruin Australia's star batter David Warner's farewell Test series.
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