Ganesh Kendale
NEW DELHI: Former Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi were on Sunday dropped from the Pakistan squad for the second and third Tests against England.
After the embarrassing innings defeat in Multan in the first Test, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced the squad for the final two matches on Sunday afternoon and Babar and Shaheen were not included in the 16-man squad.
Interestingly, under-fire Shan Masood has retained his spot as the captain.
“We’ve made the decision to rest Babar Azam and a few other players,” said selector Aaqib Javed in a Pakistan Cricket Board release.
Babar had not scored a fifty in his last 18 Test innings and managed just 30 and five in the first Test defeat against England.
Pacer Naseem Shah and keeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed have also been rested for the remainder of the England Test series.
“We are confident that this break from international cricket will help these players regain their fitness, confidence and composure, ensuring they return in top shape for future challenges.
“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,” Javed added.
The four key players in the squad have been replaced by Haseebullah, Mehran Mumtaz, Kamran Ghulam (all uncapped), fast bowler Mohammad Ali and off-spinner Sajid Khan, the board said in a release.
The second and third Tests are scheduled to be held in Multan and Rawalpindi respectively.
Pakistan 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.
