When the Pakistan Cricket Board announced their squads for the all-format tour of South Africa on Wednesday, one name in the Test squad leapt out – Mohammad Abbas. Now 34, it has been three years since he last represented Pakistan.

Abbas' recall appears strange on the face of it, given his age and how long it has been since he played international cricket. But his record in the Test arena is outstanding. His 90 wickets have come at 23.02 runs apiece – an average only bettered by Imran Khan among all those to have taken at least 50 wickets for Pakistan.

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He came in for criticism from Pakistan's team physio in 2022, over his training methods and drop in pace, which wasn't very high to begin with. To his credit though, in the three years since his last Test, Abbas has toiled away in first-class cricket.

He has become something of a legend in county cricket with Hampshire, for whom he now has 180 wickets at 19.26. Age doesn't seem to have affected his ability to pick up wickets on the cheap: he has taken 223 wickets in 60 first-class matches since his last Test in August 2021.

His latest season in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy back home in Pakistan has also been outstanding. He is the tournament's second-highest wicket-taker so far, with 31 in five matches, including a 10-wicket haul in his most recent match.

When he was dropped ahead of the home series against England in 2022, Abbas had opened up on the lack of communication from the PCB, telling Cricket Pakistan at the time, "I feel that there is a communication problem. Communication problems in the Pakistan team should not have happened. Effective communication is the key to solving any problem, and this applies to the Pakistan cricket team as well. The management and players must have open and honest discussions to find a solution and improve the two-way communication process for the betterment of the team."

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Pakistan's new selection committee, convened midway through their most recent home series, have clearly felt their predecessors erred in overlooking Abbas. In what are likely to be seam-friendly conditions in South Africa, he should be confident of once again hitting the heights he has done in Test cricket so far.

In the absence of Shaheen Shah Afridi, who has been rested, Abbas is expected to lead the pace attack. Having played two Tests in South Africa before, albeit with limited success, the likes of Khurram Shahzad, Naseem Shah and Mir Hamza will look to draw on his experience.

If all goes well, this could be some comeback.

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