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- Published: October 14, 2024 16:22
New Delhi: In an attempt to exploit the local conditions of Multan, the Pakistan Cricket Board has drafted in 4 spinners in the Playing XI which is set to take on England in the upcoming 2nd Test to be held in Multan. Pakistan has dropped its front-line pacers- Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah with specialist spinners- Sajid Khan and Zahid Mehmood.
Interestingly, Saim Ayub, who struggled in the 1st Test has surprisingly kept his place in the side while some of the big names of Pakistani cricket miss out. Ayub is expected to partner with Abdullah Shafique in the opening slot.
The men’s national selection committee has confirmed Pakistan’s playing XI for the second Test against England, starting in Multan on Tuesday, 15 October.#PAKvENG | #TestAtHome pic.twitter.com/WzLnC0lfYQ
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 14, 2024
Meanwhile, Salman Ali Agha has also been drafted into the side as a spinning all-rounder. Salman will play alongside Aamer Jamal who is the only pace option in the side. Noman Ali comes in place for Abrar Ahmed while Sajid and Zahid complete the XI. The talk of the town will however be Kamran Ghulam who will be making his national debut by replacing Babar Azam.
Babar loses his place in the Playing XI…
Meanwhile, a newly appointed selection panel consisting of Aaqib Javed, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, former ICC umpire Aleem Dar, analyst Hassan Cheema, Shan Masood and Jason Gillespie have decided that star Pakistani batsman Babar Azam would not be a part of the 2nd Test against England. According to sports website ESPNcricinfo, the selection panel took the hard call owing to the poor form of Babar in red-ball cricket.
Besides Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah have also been dropped from the squad for the 2nd Test against Multan due to poor form. Naturally, the entire pace lineup has been replaced by a spin-dominating lineup.