Pakistan announced its 15-man squad for the first Test against England, which will start on October 7 in Multan. This time, 37-year-old spinner Noman Ali has been picked for the lineup as he took the injured pacer Khurram Shahzad’s place.
Noman Ali’s Inclusion
Noman Ali is a left-arm spinner who has played 15 Test matches. He has an impressive record with 47 wickets at an average of 33.53. It was against Sri Lanka when he turned out to be a show-stopper in Colombo and got his career-best figure of 7 for 70.
Squad Changes
The remaining selected players are those who played in the recent Tests against Bangladesh. Kamran Ghulam and Mohammad Ali, who were part of the team for the recent Tests against Bangladesh, have not been included in this series but they are still part of the future plans of the Pakistan cricket team.
Injury Updates
Fit and ready for the first Test, all-rounder Aamer Jamal has recovered from his injury. Although he had been ruled out of the Bangladesh series, he was drafted into the second Test’s squad, where he didn’t make it to the final XI.
Last Game and Background
The team led by Shan Masood would thus face pressure to deliver as they head into the first Test. Pakistan haven’t won a home Test match since February 2021, and their last 10 home Test matches haven’t ended in a win. Last year, they were whitewashed 3-0 by England in the series.
Pakistan’s 1st Test Squad
- 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