Shan Masood has managed to hold on to his captaincy as the left-hander is set to lead Pakistan in the 1st Test against England as per the squad revealed by the Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday. (More Cricket News)
37-year-old left-arm spinner Noman Ali has also been called up after being sidelined for more than a year. The injured Khurram Shahzad has been replaced by Aamer Jamal in the squad.
Ali's return is the biggest highlight of the 15-man squad that remains almost the same as the squad that was whitewashed 0-2 by Bangladesh at home. Two players - Kamran Ghulam and Mohammad Ali - who were part of the 17-member squad for the Bangladesh series have been ignored.
"With a busy domestic and international cricket schedule, it makes sense to give our players some much-needed rest ahead of the Test series against England," head coach Jason Gillespie said. “We are very much looking forward to the series against England here in Pakistan and cannot wait for it to begin. We are excited about playing in front of our wonderful supporters.”
Pakistan and England will play three Tests, starting from October 7. The first two matches will be played in Multan with Rawalpindi hosting the third one. The hosts will be under pressure to perform after having not won a single game at home since February 2021. The winless run of 10 games includes a 3-0 whitewash by England in 2022.
Pakistan captain Masood too is under pressure heading into the series, having lost all five matches that he has led the team in. He is the only Pakistani skipper in their cricket history who has lost five consecutive matches to begin his captaincy stint.
Pakistan squad for 1st Test against England: Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel (vc), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi
