File photo of Shan Masood© X (Twitter)
Pakistan's Shan Masood is likely to be retained captain for the upcoming home Test series against England, while Babar Azam is also assured of keeping his white-ball captaincy when the team flies to Australia and South Africa later this year. England are set to arrive in Pakistan on October 3 for a three-Test series beginning in Multan on October 7, with the Pakistan Cricket Board selectors expected to announce the Test squad after the Champions Cup final on Sunday. Masood, under whose captaincy Pakistan has lost all five Tests, will be holding discussions with head coach Jason Gillespie and national selectors, Muhammad Yousuf and Asad Shafiq, in Faisalabad this week to decide the plan for the England series.
The last time England came to Pakistan during the 2022/23 season, they white-washed the Babar Azam-led side 3-0.
According to a source, not many changes are expected in the Test squad that lost the series against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi 0-2.
"While white-ball head coach, Gary Kirsten has identified some new young players from the Champions Cup for T20 and ODI sides, Gillespie and high-performance coach, Tim Nielsen, have still not made up their mind on any new probables for the Test series against England," he said.
The source added that the batting order was unlikely to change much with Shan, Babar, Saud Shakeel, Abdullah Shafique, Salman Ali Agha, Muhammad Rizwan, Kamran Ghulam, Muhammad Huraira in line for selection.
"The selectors are considering the inclusion of some new spinners for the three-match series but first it has to be decided what sort of pitches would be prepared in Multan and Rawalpindi (the venues for the three Tests)," the source added.
Pakistan have lost the home series to Australia, England and Bangladesh since 2022 and barely managed to draw the series against New Zealand. PTI Cor AM AM AM