Pakistan announces team for last two Tests against England; Babar, Shaheen, and Naseem dropped

For the second and third Test matches against England, which are set to take place at Multan and Rawalpinidi, respectively, the Pakistan Cricket Board has announced a 16-man squad. Babar Azam, a former captain and star batsman, was left off the list along with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, in a move that had been simmering since the first Test ended with Pakistan being soundly defeated by the visitors in Multan by an innings and 47 runs.

🚨 Pakistan name squad for second and third Tests against England 🚨#PAKvENG | #TestAtHome pic.twitter.com/EHS9m84TXK

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 13, 2024

Regarding the team changes from the first Test, 21-year-old southpaw Haseebullah Khan has taken the position of former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, who won the Champions Trophy. Right-arm off-spinner Sajid Khan took Abrar Ahmed’s position after he went wicketless in the 35 overs he bowled in the opening match. Earlier this year, during the third Test match against Australia in Sydney, Sajid made his final appearance in an international red-ball match.

Zahid Mahmood, a leg-spinner, was also called up. He had not played Test cricket for Pakistan since England’s last tour in 2022. He participated in the recently finished One-Day Cup, taking five wickets in one of the matches. He did score a few runs against England at the time, but he will always remember.

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the 12 wickets he took in four innings. Notably, Mehran Mumtaz and Kamran Ghulam received their first calls-ups to the red-ball team.

Pakistan’s 16-member squad for the second and third Tests against England: Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel (vc), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Haseebullah (wj), Kamran Ghulam, Mehran Mumtaz, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wj), Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Zahid Mehmood