Pakistan Test squad excludes Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah in bold move, PCB cites 'considered current form'

On Sunday, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) revealed the squad for the upcoming second and third Tests against England. The announcement came as a shock to many, as star batsman Babar Azam was left out of the 16-member squad, despite earlier reports suggesting his inclusion. Additionally, fans were surprised to see that key fast bowlers Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah were also not included in the squad.

Pakistan suffered a heavy defeat in the opening Test, despite posting over 500 runs in the first innings. Shan Masood's side endured an innings loss in Multan, a first in the 147-year history of Test cricket for any team scoring so heavily.

In a statement, Aqib Javed, a member of the men's national selection committee, informed that the trio, as well as Sarfaraz Ahmed, have been "rested". However, the statement also mentioned that PCB considered "current form" as one of the prerogatives for selecting the 16-member squad.

“Selecting the squad for the upcoming Tests against England has been a challenging task for the selectors. We’ve had to carefully consider current player form, the urgency to bounce back in the series and Pakistan’s demanding 2024-25 international schedule. With these factors in mind and in the best interest of Pakistan cricket as well as the players, we’ve made the decision to rest Babar Azam, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi," Javed said, as quoted in the release.

“We are confident that this break from international cricket will help these players regain their fitness, confidence and composure, ensuring they return in top shape for future challenges. They remain some of our finest talents with much more to contribute to Pakistan cricket. We are fully committed to supporting them during this period so they can come back even stronger.

Babar's form

Babar's last 50+ score in Tests came in December 2022 during the side's home series against New Zealand. Since then, in 9 Tests, Babar's highest score was 41 against Australia in Melbourne.

In Pakistan's unprecedented 0-2 series clean sweep to Bangladesh at home last month, Babar had scores of 0, 22, 31, and 11.

Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah have struggled to deliver impactful performances lately, but the pitches in Pakistan haven’t done them any favors either. For more than two years, Pakistan has faced heavy criticism for producing flat surfaces that offer minimal assistance to bowlers. In the recent Multan Test, Pakistan posted a formidable 556 in their first innings, only for England to outshine them, declaring at 823/7 in response.

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