Pakistan has brought back experienced spin bowler in the team for the first Test against England: Pakistan has announced that their 15-man squad for the first Test against England will be played in Multan starting on October 7.
Pakistan have included hand spinner Noman Ali in the squad for the first match of the ICC World Test Championship series against England, which begins early next month.
37-year-old Noman Ali, who last played a Test in 2023, has been included in the squad in place of injured fast bowler Khurram Shahzad. Noman has played 15 Tests for Pakistan, taking 47 wickets at an average of 33.53.
In his final Test match for Pakistan against Sri Lanka in Colombo, Ali had his best-ever performance with seven wickets for seventy runs.
Kamran Ghulam and Mohammad Ali, who were part of the Test squad against Bangladesh, have been ignored for the first Test but will remain in the future plans.
“With a busy domestic and international cricket schedule, it makes sense to give our players some much-needed rest ahead of the Test series against England,” head coach Jason Gillespie said.
“We are very much looking forward to the series against England here in Pakistan and cannot wait for it to begin. We are excited about playing in front of our wonderful supporters.”
Aamir Jamal, who was ruled out of the Test series against Bangladesh, is considered fit for the first Test. Jamal was initially ruled out of the Test series against Bangladesh but was included in the squad for the second Test, although he was not part of the final playing XI.
Pakistan are currently eighth in the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 standings after starting the home series against Bangladesh.
The Shan Masood-led side is under a lot of pressure against England in the first Test, as their last chance to win a Test match on home soil was in February 2021. Pakistan have not won any of their last 10 home Tests, including a 3-0 series loss against England in 2022.
PAK vs ENG: Pakistan squad for 1st Test against England:
Pakistan 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.
Source:- ICC
