Shaheen Afridi Comes Into Pakistan’s Playing XI For 1st Test vs England

The English team is coming after a brilliant summer and will loom to continue their winning momentum. Left-arm batter Shan Masood will be leading the Pakistan team and has opted for three seamers and Abrar Ahmed as the only specialist spinner. 

“I am not worried for my job security,” Masood said.

 “I took this job to make the changes we believe will help this team. If I believe this team can go in a certain direction, even if my personal failure takes Pakistan in that direction, I will be content. However much time I get I’ll be grateful for and do my best.”

“Bangladesh have two players who have played 70-90 Tests (Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahman), and Litton [Das] and Mehidy [Hasan Miraz] have played close to 40. We need the same level of red-ball exposure. Test cricket is the ultimate format of the game. You need experience. It’s obvious we need more Test and red-ball cricket. Whatever format you play is the format for which you’ll produce players,” Masood said.

Apart from Shaheen, Naseem Shah and fast-bowling all-rounder Aamir Jamal have also been added to the playing XI. 

Pakistan’s Playing XI: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed.

England’s Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir