Shaheen Afridi and Aamer Jamal return as Pakistan announce Playing XI for 1st Test vs England

Pakistan have received a big boost ahead of the Test series against England as premier fast bowler Shaheen Afridi is back into the Playing XI after being left out of the last Test match against Bangladesh.

Alongside Shaheen Afridi, Aamer Jamal has also returned after being left out of the last series due to injury. Shan Masood will continue to lead the side with Saud Shakeel as the vice-captain.

Pakistan have decided to go with three seamers and Abrar Ahmed as the lone specialist spinner. Salman Ali Agha is also expected to bowl his off-spin at some point.

Also read: Suryakumar Yadav clears the air around Mayank Yadav's debut for India in the Bangladesh T20Is

Shaheen Afridi and Aamer Jamal return in Pakistan's Playing XI for 1st Test vs England

JUST IN: Shaheen Shah Afridi is back after being left out of the previous Test; Aamer Jamal returns

Pakistan fans, happy with the lineup? #ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/Mc1Fvu8f69

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) October 6, 2024

The return of Shaheen Afridi and Aamer Jamal will add some teeth to this bowling attack. It also remains to be seen how Afridi performs after not having a great time with the ball in the last few months.

The batting line-up has been retained despite underperforming in the Test series against Bangladesh. Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique will be the openers with skipper Shan Masood at No. 3.

Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel will bat in the middle order while in-form wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan has also been retained ahead of Sarfaraz Ahmed. Aamer Jamal's return also bolsters Pakistan's batting line-up as he is a capable batter for the No. 8 spot.

Overall, the team looks nicely balanced with a good mix of youuth and experience. However, the confidence will be low and Pakistan will be facing an England side, which will look to attack from the first ball.

Shaheen Afridi's recent form

Shaheen Afridi's form has dipped dramatically in all the formats. The left-arm quick had a difficult time in the T20 World Cup 2024 where the conditions were favorable for seam bowling.

In the recent series against Bangladesh, he played the first Test where he finished with figures of 2-88 in the first innings. Both the wickets were of the tailenders. Shaheen's lack of penetration with the ball forced the team management to drop him for the second Test.

Meanwhile, Aamer Jamal has also returned after recovering from injury. Jamal was highly impressive during Pakistan's tour of Australia where he showed his all-round capabilities. Jamal picked up 18 wickets in 3 Tests at an impressive average of 20.44.

He was the second highest wicket-taker of the series after Pat Cummins. The bowling allrounder was excellent with the bat too as he scored 143 runs at an average of 28.60 with 1 fifty as well.

Pakistan Playing XI for 1st Test against England

Shan Masood (C), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel (VC), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamer Jamal, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed