PAK vs ENG: Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi & Naseem Shah Dropped by Pakistan for 2nd & 3rd Test Against England

Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah among players to face the axe as Pakistan on Sunday (October 13) announced their 16-member squad for the remainder of the three-match home Test series against England.

Shan Masood-led Pakistan suffered their sixth straight defeat in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle last week when they suffered an innings and 47 runs loss to England in the Test series opener in Multan.

The second Test is scheduled to start on Tuesday (October 15) at the same venue as the first Test - Multan Cricket Ground, while the third and final Test will be staged at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from October 24.

With a view to freshen up the squad that has been part of a miserable run of results, the recently revamped selection committee has decided to rest some of it's senior members, including Babar, Shaheen, Naseem and Sarfaraz Ahmed.

"Selecting the squad for the upcoming Tests against England has been a challenging task for the selectors. We've had to carefully consider current player form, the urgency to bounce back in the series and Pakistan's demanding 2024-25 international schedule," Aqib Javed, member of the men's national selection committee, was quoted as saying in a PCB release.

"With these factors in mind and in the best interest of Pakistan cricket as well as the players, we've made the decision to rest Babar Azam, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi."

The four players have been replaced by uncapped trio Haseebullah, Mehran Mumtaz, Kamran Ghulam and fast bowler Mohammad Ali. Meanwhile, Abrar Ahmed, who missed the closing stages of the first Test with illness, is being replaced by off-spinner Sajid Khan.

Also, Noman Ali and Zahid Mehmood, who were initially part of the original first Test squad but were subsequently released, have also been included in the 16-player squad.

Skipper Shan Masood, his deputy Saud Shakeel, openers Abdullah Safique and Saim Ayub have all retained their places in the squad alongside wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, batter Mohammad Huraira, all-rounder Aamir Jamal and pacer Mir Hamza.

Pakistan Squad for 2nd & 3rd Test vs England

Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Haseebullah (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mehran Mumtaz, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Zahid Mehmood.