Pakistan fans were left in utter disbelief after the national side’s newly set-up selection committee had announced star players Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Naseem Shah have been left out of the squad that is set to face England in the upcoming second Test in Multan. (More Cricket News)
The selection overhaul came after Pakistan’s humiliating defeat in the first Test of the series on Friday, October 11.
Former skipper Azam headlined the list of players who missed out to make the squad for the second and third Test.
However, his recent form had raised quite a bit of eyebrows, averaging 20.70 in his last 17 innings.
In the first Test, he notched up scores of 30 and 5 on a very flat deck at the Multan Cricket Stadium.
The decision, however, did not just stop with Babar. Fast-bowling duo Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah, along with the experienced Sarfaraz Ahmed, had also been dropped.
Aqib Javed, who leads the selection committee, said that the decision was made in search of a balance considering the form of the players as well as Pakistan’s schedule.
The announcement did spark outrage among Pakistani fans, who took to their social media handles to express their frustration, and some of them even questioned the logic behind the move.
Pakistan Squad for England 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
