Pakistan vs England 1st Test Squad, 37-year-old Noman Ali Replaces Khurram Shehzad

The Men in Green have announced their 15-member squad for the 1st test against England. The PAK vs ENG 1st test is set to be played in Multan from 7th-11th October. 

Coming from a humiliating series loss against Bangladesh, team Pakistan will pull out all the stops in this three match test series against England. 

The first step in the supposedly right direction is the inclusion of the 37-year-old spinner Noman Ali in place of injured pacer Khurram Shahzad. 

The PCB has included the left-arm spinner in the Pakistan squad for the 1st test against England. Ali has played 15 Test matches for Pakistan, taking 47 wickets at an average of 33.53. In his last Test match for Pakistan against Sri Lanka in Colombo, Ali had taken a career-best haul of 7 for 70, according to the ICC.

Mohammad Ali and Kamran Ghulam, who were part of the Pakistan squad for the PAK vs BAN test series, which Pakistan lost by 2-0, have not been included in this squad, but will hopefully be a part of the future squads. 

"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 as quoted by ICC.

"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," he added.

Moreover, all-rounder Aamer Jamal, who missed the Bangladesh series due to an injury, has been included in the 1st test squad. He was also a part of the PAK vs BAN 2nd test, but wasn’t included in the playing XI. 

As of today, Pakistan sits at the eighth spot in the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 standings. This decline is a result of Pakistan’s humiliating series loss against Bangladesh. 

Shan Masood’s side would definitely be stressed going into the PAK vs ENG 1st test as they last won a home test match back in February 2021. 

Furthermore, the Men in Green have not been successful in the last ten test matches that they have played at home, including a 3-0 series loss against England in 2022. 

Pakistan squad for PAK vs ENG 1st Test: 

Here’s what the Pakistan squad looks like:

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.