Pakistan skipper Massod, head coach Gillespie’s selection powers curtailed by new panel
MULTAN, Oct 14: Pakistan star Babar Azam wanted to continue playing in the test series against England but has been rested for the two remaining matches, the team said Monday.
“Babar was willing to play but the selection committee thought it was the best time to give him a rest,” assistant coach Azhar Mahmood told reporters a day before the second test starts in Multan.
“Babar is our No. 1 player. There’s no question about his technique and ability.”
Pakistan has rung the changes after England pulled off a remarkable victory by an innings and 47 runs in the first test in Multan by amassing 823-7 declared in its only innings.
Fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah have also been left out. The hosts have opted for an all-out spin attack by recalling Noman Ali, Sajid Khan and Zahid Mahmood. Aamer Jamal is the solitary fast-bowling option.
Left-arm spinner Noman hasn’t featured in a test for more than a year, off-spinner Sajid played his last test against Australia earlier this year while leg-spinner Zahid is back for the first time since taking on England in Multan in 2022.
Kamran Ghulam will make his debut and replace Babar at No. 4 in the batting order.
Pakistan will re-use the same first-test strip in the hope its spinners can take 20 wickets.
The team has taken 20 wickets just once in its last six tests, losing all of them under the captaincy of Shan Masood.
Babar has failed to score a half-century in his last 18 test innings, with a highest score of 41 against Australia in Melbourne last year.
Mahmood said Babar will return to the side after the series against England as Pakistan has a busy schedule in Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa before hosting West Indies in two tests early next year.
Mahmood said, “There’s a lot of cricket coming up…the selection committee thought to give Babar rest so that he comes back fresh. I am quite close to Babar and I know there’s lots of things going on in his mind.” Except for Babar, Pakistan has kept faith in the batting line-up that scored 556 and 220 in the first test.
BEN STOKES RETURNS
Captain Ben Stokes made a return to the England Test team as he was on Monday named in the playing eleven for the second match against Pakistan beginning here Tuesday, after he was declared to have been recovered from an injury he sustained in August.
Stokes, who has been out of action due to a hamstring problem, is one of the two changes in the England side that beat Pakistan in the first Test by an innings and 47 runs.
Stokes has replaced pacer Chris Woakes while England have retained both spinners Shoaib Bashir and Jack Leach in their eleven.
According to the visiting team management, Stokes has bowled and batted without any discomfort in the nets in the last few days and was cleared by medical experts to make his comeback.
The 33-year-old all-rounder last played in the Hundred where he sustained his injury in August forcing him to miss the entire three-match series against Sri Lanka at home.
He also missed the first Test against Pakistan here.
NEW SELECTION POWERS
Pakistan captain Shan Masood and head coach Jason Gillespie will no longer have a say in selection matters after the PCB selectors cut down their powers, according to a source.
A reliable source in the PCB told that the role of the captain and head coach had been changed with neither of them having final say in selection matters or even finalising the playing eleven.
“The playing eleven for the second Test has been finalised after consulting Shan and Gillispie but like until the first Test they no longer have final say in the selection of the playing eleven,” the source said.
Masood and Gillispie were inducted on the national selection committee as voting members with white ball head coach Gary Kirsten in August, but apparently the source said things have changed now.
“It appears after the defeat in Multan the PCB to give complete authority to the revamped national selection committee.
“The surprising thing is that the selectors are in Multan and have been in charge of talking to the ground staff about the pitch for the second Test and even have final authority on what sort of strategy would be adopted for the match,” the source said.
The source noted that such behind the scenes overnight power changes are not uncommon in Pakistan cricket. (PTI)
SQUADS
Pakistan:
Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (captain), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Aamer Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mahmood.
England:
Ben Stokes (capt), Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir