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"Naseem Shah dropped and the real culprit is still playing"- Twitter reacts to Shan Masood's decision

By CA Cricket Staff

Published - 31 Aug 2024, 12:14 PM | Updated - 01 Sep 2024, 11:14 AM

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Naseem Shah of Pakistan
Naseem Shah of Pakistan. Image Credit: X

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The Pakistan cricket team has yet again surprised the cricketing fraternity by dropping the young pace sensation Naseem Shah for the ongoing rain-hit second and final Test against Bangladesh at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on August 31.

The game was originally scheduled to kick off on Friday, but the persistent heavy rain played spoilsport, and the umpires had to call the play of Day 1 of the second Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh even without having the toss in Rawalpindi.

However, the weather cleared up at Rawalpindi on Saturday, and Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss and decided to field first against the Pakistan team.

Pakistan makes surprising changes for crucial second Test against Bangladesh

Bangladesh has made just one change to their playing XI, dropping Shoriful Islam for the right-arm pacer Taskin Ahmed, as they are aiming for the maiden clean sweep against the hosts.

On the other hand, Pakistan had already announced a 12-member squad, and they have now surprisingly dropped Naseem Shah from the playing XI for the second and final Test against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on Saturday.

In the final playing XI, the Shan Masood-led Pakistan team has made two changes: Mir Hamza comes in to replace Shaheen Afridi, while leg-spinner Abrar Ahmad replaced Naseem Shah in the line-up. Shaheen had already been released from the squad to travel to Karachi to spend time with his newborn son.

The hosts made a big blunder in the first Test by opting for an all-pace attack and suffered an embarrassing defeat of 10 wickets at the hands of the Tigers at the same venue.

However, for the second and final game, Pakistan didn’t repeat the mistake, selecting a spin specialist, Abrar, who will be supported by the off-spin all-rounder Agha Salman if there is a tern.

Reacting to the bold call to drop Naseem Shah, Pakistan captain Masood made it clear that the young pacer was not axed but was rested for the game, keeping in mind the upcoming crucial Test matches, including against England.

We've rested Naseem Shah for the second Test: Shan Masood

He added that Abrar performed well on green tracks, and that’s why they bet on him at the cost of one of their premier pacers, Shah, for the crucial Test match.

Masood said at the toss: “We would have bowled first as well since the pitch has been under covers. But now, with it effectively being a four-day game, we just have to play our best cricket.

From the twelve, we've rested Naseem. So, Abrar and Mir Hamza come in for Shaheen and Naseem from the last game. We'll have to wait and see. I think this pitch has a bit more grass coverage, which is what I meant.”

The Pakistan skipper added, “We've added an extra spinner to see if we can get some assistance, and I believe Abrar brings something different. We've seen him perform well on green tracks before, where he's gotten some help. So, we decided to go with three quicks and have Abrar and Salman as our spinners.”

However, despite Masood’s clarification, Pakistani fans have been calling out the team management for dropping Naseem from the playing XI for the ongoing second Test against Bangladesh. Many have been questioning the bold call on social media platforms.

Here's how fans react to Naseem Shah's exclusion from Pakistan's XI:

Tagged:

Naseem Shah Shan Masood Pakistan National Cricket Team PAK vs BAN Bangladesh National Cricket Team Pakistan vs Bangladesh ICC World Test Championship
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