Pakistan has revealed its lineup for the first Test match against England, which is set to commence tomorrow in Multan.
The selected squad comprises 11 players, featuring three fast bowlers and one regular spinner.
Captain Shan Masood shared the team’s composition during a press conference held in Multan prior to the match.
The playing eleven includes Shan Masood, Saud Shakeel, Babar Azam, Saeem Ayub, Abdullah Shafiq, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Aamer Jamal, and Abrar Ahmed.
Masood remarked that England has been competing without Ben Stokes, yet their squad remains well-balanced. He acknowledged the impact of Stokes’ absence but emphasized that their playing eleven is still strong, given Stokes’ status as one of the top all-rounders globally.
“We must play our best cricket,” Masood stated. “In the past, we have narrowly lost matches. This is our strongest playing eleven, and Aamer Jamal’s inclusion will be advantageous. We have kept our batting lineup intact for consistency.”
He also noted that Test matches last five days, which means teams need to adopt flexible strategies. Jamal has shown solid performance in Australia, even batting as low as number eight. “England has capable seamers, and we cannot underestimate them. We need to implement a rotation policy for our fast bowlers to manage their workload, while batters face different circumstances.”
It’s also worth noting that England announced their playing eleven for the first Test against Pakistan yesterday.
Due to a hamstring injury, captain Ben Stokes has not fully recovered and will miss the first Test.
Before the series against Pakistan, England received some unfortunate news.
With Stokes unavailable, Ollie Pope will take over as acting captain, supported by players including Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse (making his debut), Jack Leach, and Shoaib Bashir.