Kamran Ghulam to Debut as Pakistan Announce Playing XI for Second Test Against England

Right-handed batter Kamran Ghulam is set to make his Test debut as Pakistan announced their playing eleven for the second game against England, set to begin at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

Ghulam, 29, has previously represented Pakistan in a 50-over match in January 2023.

Spinners Noman Ali, Zahid Mehmood and Sajid Khan have also been named in the team with Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Sarfaraz Ahmed rested along with Azam.

Ali, 38, played his last test in July 2023 while 36-year-old Mehmood has not represented Pakistan since December 2022. Khan’s previous test appearance was in January.

Pakistan are 1-0 behind in the ongoing three-match Test series against England and are also at the bottom of the ongoing World Test Championship standings with 16.67%. Ghulam, who’s earned one ODI cap for Pakistan, has amassed 4377 runs in 59 first-class matches, at an average of 49.17, including 16 centuries and 20 fifties.

He comes into the playing eleven in place of Babar Azam, who’s been rested from remainder of the series. With Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah being rested as well, and Abrar Ahmed unavailable due to dengue fever, Pakistan have opted for wholesale changes to their bowling combination.

They have brought in three full-time spinners – Noman Ali, Sajid Khan and Zahid Mehmood – along with Salman Agha’s part-time skills and just one fast bowler in Aamer Jamal. Mahmood, 36, has played two Tests previously for Pakistan, both coming against England in the 2022 series.

The decision to dramatically change the bowling composition comes with a belief from the newly-formed selection committee that the pitch in Multan, which was used in the first Test, is good enough to take spin from the very first over.

In the first Test at Multan, Pakistan suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of England by an innings and 46 runs, which also made them the first team in history of Test cricket to lose by an innings after scoring over 500 runs in their first innings.

The second of the three-test series will be played from Tuesday in Multan, the same venue as the first, with the third match set for Rawalpindi from Oct. 24.

Pakistan playing XI: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (captain), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, and Zahid Mehmood

(With inputs from Agencies)