ISLAMABAD: Shan Masood will lead Pakistan in the upcoming Test series against England, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Tuesday, despite the national side losing five Tests under his captaincy.
The Pakistan cricket selectors announced a 15-player squad on Tuesday for the first Test against England, set to take place in Multan from 7-11 October.
Masood was retained as captain despite some media reports suggesting the 34-year-old had faced an axe after Pakistan’s shocking 2-0 loss to Bangladesh last month.
“Following the squad announcement and based on the recommendation of head coach Jason Gillespie, the selected players have been withdrawn from the Champions One-Day Cup playoffs to allow them some rest ahead of the series,” the PCB said in a statement.
“The squad will assemble in Multan on Monday, 30 September, with the training camp commencing on 1 October.”
Pakistan had never lost to Bangladesh before the twin defeats took Masood’s record to five losses since replacing Babar Azam as skipper in November last year. He lost his first series 3-0 in Australia.
The first of three Tests against England starts in Multan from October 7, the second will be played in the same city from October 15 and the third in Rawalpindi from October 24.
“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,” Gillespie was quoted as saying by the PCB.
“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.”
Pakistan squad:
Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel, Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Mir Hamza, Muhammad Hurraira, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi
Pakistan announce squad for first England Test, retain Shan Masood as captain
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Pakistan announce squad for first England Test, retain Shan Masood as captain
- Masood was retained as captain despite media reports suggesting he had faced an axe after Pakistan’s 2-0 loss to Bangladesh
- Pakistan had never lost to Bangladesh before the twin defeats took Masood’s record to five losses since replacing Babar Azam
South Africa do not fear Salah or Marmoush, coach Broos says
- South Africa’s Belgian coach said he will not use a special approach to contain Salah or Marmoush
- “We are focused on no one. The most important thing is the team,” Bross said
RABAT: Coach Hugo Broos said South Africa do not fear Egypt’s Premier League contingent, Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush, ahead of their Group B clash in the Africa Cup of Nations on Friday.
Manchester City forward Marmoush scored the equalizer against Zimbabwe, before a late strike from Liverpool’s Salah secured a 2-1 win in their opening game in Morocco on Monday.
South Africa beat Angola by the same score in their Group B opener thanks to Lyle Foster’s screamer.
South Africa’s Belgian coach said he will not use a special approach to contain Salah or Marmoush.
“We are focused on no one. The most important thing is the team,” Bross, who led Cameroon to the 2017 edition title over Egypt, told a press conference on Thursday.
“We all know how good Salah is, we all know how good Marmoush is and we all know how good Trezeguet is and other players. They are such a good team. Why should we focus on one player? We have to be prepared to beat the team.”
The last meeting between the two sides in AFCON ended in South Africa’s favor, after they beat the hosts of the 2019 edition 1-0 in the Round of 16.
“We have to put Egypt in difficult (situations) and you can only do that when you use your quality and the players you normally use,” added Broos.
