Pakistan announce squad for first England Test, retain Shan Masood as captain

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the squad announcement and based on the recommendation of head coach Jason Gillespie, the selected players have been withdrawn from the Champions One-Day Cup playoffs to allow them some rest ahead of the series,” the PCB said in a statement.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