Lahore (TDI): In a major reshuffle ahead of the second Test against England, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) dropped premier batter Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Abrar Ahmed.
The cricket board recalled uncapped Kamran Ghulam, Mehran Mumtaz, Sajid Khan, Noman Ali, and Zahid Mahmood.
The massive restructuring of the squad comes on the back of Pakistan’s humiliating innings defeat in the first Test match.
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The second Test of the three-match series will commence on October 15 in Multan.
Aqib Javed, member of the men’s selection committee said picking a quad for the remaining two Tests was a challenging task for the selectors.
“We’ve had to carefully consider current player form, the urgency to bounce back in the series and Pakistan’s demanding 2024-25 international schedule. With these factors in mind and the best interest of Pakistan cricket as well as the players, we’ve decided to rest Babar Azam, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi,” he said.
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He hoped that the break from international cricket would help these players regain their form, fitness and composure.
“They remain some of our finest talents with much more to contribute to Pakistan cricket. We are fully committed to supporting them during this period so they can come back even stronger.”
Squad (for 2nd and 3rd Tests):
Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Haseebullah (wicket-keeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mehran Mumtaz, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha and Zahid Mehmood.
