2nd Test
Kamran Ghulam has replaced Babar Azam and the three specialist spinners are named for the second Multan Test
Pakistan have opted for three specialist spinners in the second Multan Test, naming finger spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, alongside wrist spinner Zahid Mahmood in the XI on Monday.
Kamran Ghulam is set to make his debut, replacing Babar Azam at No. 4.
Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Abrar Ahmed have also been replaced from the side that made history as the first team to lose a Test by an innings despite posting a first-innings total of over 500.
Pakistan XI for second Test:
| Player Name |
|---|
| Saim Ayub |
| Abdullah Shafique |
| Shan Masood (Captain) |
| Kamran Ghulam |
| Saud Shakeel |
| Mohammad Rizwan (WK) |
| Salman Ali Agha |
| Aamir Jamal |
| Noman Ali |
| Sajid Khan |
| Zahid Mahmood |
The four changes in Pakistan’s lineup came after lengthy deliberations among the newly-appointed selectorsâAleem Dar, Azhar Ali, and Aaqib Javedâalong with Shan Masood, Jason Gillespie, head curator Tony Hemming, and Usman Wahla, PCB’s director for international cricket operations, during Monday’s training session.
The group held an almost hour-long meeting beside the pitch, which will be reused for the second Test, closely inspecting the cracks and footmarks.
Cricpulse had reported that the selectors instructed the pitch curator to prepare a spin-friendly surface that would offer turn from day one.
With only one seamer, Aamer Jamal, named in the playing XI, Pakistan is expected to open the bowling with a spinner, likely Sajid Khan, as he had done in Sydney earlier this year.
Noman Ali, who last played for Pakistan in July 2023, returns after his match-winning seven-wicket haul in the second innings of the Colombo Test helped secure a clean sweep over Sri Lanka.
He had traveled to Australia for the three-Test series later that year but returned early due to acute appendicitis.
Zahid Mahmood, whose two Test appearances came against England in December 2022, also returns.
Both Noman and Mahmood were part of the squad for the first Multan Test but were released after Pakistan opted to field only one specialist spinner, Abrar Ahmed.
There is only one change in Pakistan’s top seven, with Kamran Ghulam replacing Babar Azam, who has been “rested,” according to the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Ghulam, a consistent performer in first-class cricket, has accumulated 4,525 runs at an average of 49.72 over the past decade.
The 29-year-old right-hander has notched 13 first-class centuries since the start of 2023, scoring 1,055 runs at an average of 55.53.
Although Ghulam was called up for Pakistan’s recent Test series against Bangladesh, he was dropped for the first Multan Test.
His maiden call-up was for the 2022-23 series against New Zealand.
During the 2020-21 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Ghulam set a record for the most runs in a single edition, with 1,249 runs at an average of 62.45 for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, earning him the PCB’s “Domestic Cricketer of the Year” award.
He has only played one ODI, in which he neither batted nor bowled, against New Zealand in January 2023.
These four changes underscore the desperation within the Pakistan camp to halt their alarming decline, having lost six consecutive Testsâall under Shan Masoodâs captaincyâand remaining winless at home since February 2021.
Over the course of the first Test, Salman Ali Agha, Saim Ayub, and Saud Shakeel also contributed with spin, extending Pakistan’s spin options to six bowlers.
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