After a slew of reports, the word is now official: Babar Azam has been dropped from the final two Test matches against England. Pakistan have already lost the first Test match and etched an unwanted record in their name. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced a 16-man squad for the 2nd and 3rd Test match in Multan and Rawalpindi.
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Babar Azam Among Other Big Stars Dropped From Pakistan Squad for Tests vs ENG
The PCB released an official statement regarding the 16-man squad for the final two Test match of the series. The list shows that apart from Babar Azam , fast bowlers Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah have also been released alongside wicketkeeper batter Sarfaraz Ahmed. Even Wrist spinner Abrar Ahmed is out of action as he recovers from dengue.
The four players have been replaced by uncapped players Haseebullah, Mehran Mumtaz, Kamran Ghulam, off-spinner Sajid Khan, and fast bowler Mohammad Ali. The 16-player squad also includes Noman Ali and Zahid Mehmood, who were released after being a part of the first Test squad.
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Babar Azam has been under a lot of scrutiny as he hasn’t been able to deliver lately. His last big knock came in December 2022, and it has been downhill ever since for the PAK batter. Babar’s struggles were evident at the ICC tournaments, and it looked like a no-brainer for the New PCB committee to drop him. But Aqib Javed, member of PCB’s men’s national selection committee, said that they scrutinized while making the selection of the players, and the dropped names have been given rest from International cricket to regain their fitness.
“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. 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,” said Javed.
Pakistan Squad for the 2nd and 3rd Test Match against England: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Haseebullah (wicket-kepeer), 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.
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