Pakistan reveals lineup for second Multan Test against England

LAHORE: Pakistani on Monday revealed their playing XI for the second Test against England set to commence on Tuesday at the Multan Cricket Stadium.

Batter Kamran Ghulam is set to make his debut after being made part of the lineup following Babar Azam's exclusion from the series. 

Meanwhile, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan and Zahid Mehmood will be part of the second Test as Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Sarfaraz Ahmed have been rested, whereas, Abrar Ahmad is unavailable due to ill-health.

Today's announcement comes a day after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) unveiled a 16-member squad wherein Babar, Shaheen and Naseem were "rested" along with wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed who was also released by the board.

The Green Shirts had suffered a rather embarrassing defeat by innings and 47 runs at the hands of the visitors.

Defending its decision to drop top players, the PCB said that the move was aimed at allowing the cricketers to have some rest so that they can come back afresh.

The decision was made in the best interest of Pakistan cricket, said a board's spokesperson.

He noted that selecting the squad for the upcoming Tests against England has been a challenging task for the selectors and highlighted that the board had to carefully consider current players’ form, the urgency to bounce back in the series and Pakistan's demanding 2024-25 international schedule.

The three-match series is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25.

The second Test is set to be played at the Multan Cricket Stadium, same as the first match, whereas the third and last match of the series will be commence at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on October 24.

Playing XI

Shan Masood (c), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mehmood.