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Spinners Zahid Mahmood and Noman Ali have been released from the Pakistan's squad in middle of the ongoing first Test against England in Multan on October 7. The decision was confirmed by the team's media manager to Cricbuzz.
Zahid Mahmood, Noman Ali released from Pakistan's Test squad
Mahmood, who had been added to the squad just a day before the Test, had made only two Test appearances during England's last tour of Pakistan in December 2022. He had taken 12 wickets across four innings in those matches. Ali, on the other hand, had been a regular fixture in the Pakistan side until last year. However, he had to return home from Australia before the start of Pakistan's Test tour last December due to acute appendicitis. Subsequently, he was not named in the 17-player squad for the two Bangladesh Tests in August and September.
Pakistan made a notable change by replacing injured Khurram Shahzad with Ali to bring their squad to 15. In preparation for this series, captain Shan Masood had explained that this decision was made to ensure that each individual player receives adequate attention from the support staff. This strategic choice aims to enhance individual development and performance. However, this decision means that Pakistan is left with only three reserve players: Mohammad Huraira, Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Mir Hamza. As a result, their options for concussion substitutes are quite limited.
Talking about the Multan Test, captain Shan Masood capitalised on the flat and batting-friendly conditions on the first day of the series opener against England in Multan. He scored an impressive century, laying a solid foundation for his team in the remainder of the match. Masood, who has faced criticism due to Pakistan's recent string of losses in Test matches, is determined to prevent his team from suffering a sixth consecutive defeat. This 34-year-old's fifth Test century in 67 innings is also his first as the captain of the Pakistan team.
Masood walked in to bat after Saim Ayub was dismissed early by Gus Atkinson. He played a crucial role in preventing an early collapse for Pakistan on the first day in Multan. Scoring at a steady pace against an England team missing their captain, Ben Stokes, Masood reached his century in just 102 deliveries.
As of 56.1 overs, Pakistan were 255/1 with Masood intact on 146 and Abdullah Shafique unbeaten on 100.
