MULTAN: Out-of-form batsman Babar Azam was dropped on Sunday as Pakistan shook up their squad for the second Test against England, following their innings and 47-run defeat in the first. “We’ve made the decision to rest Babar Azam and a few other players,” said selector Aaqib Javed in a Pakistan Cricket Board release, after a 16-player squad with three uncapped players was named for the match which begins in Multan on Tuesday.

Azam has not scored a fifty in his last 18 Test innings and managed just 30 and five in the first Test which England won by an innings and 47 runs on Friday after piling up 823-7 declared. Also dropped are pace duo Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, while spinner Abrar Ahmed has been left out after being taken ill.

Abrar was hospitalized after a high fever which forced him to miss the fourth and fifth day of the first Test. Javed hoped Azam would come back refreshed after a break. “We are confident that this break from international cricket will help these players, especially Azam, regain their confidence,” said Javed.

“They remain some of our finest talents with much more to contribute to Pakistan cricket.” The uncapped Kamran Ghulam, 29, should get the nod to replace Azam at number four in the batting line-up.

Two other potential debutants were called up in the shape of wicketkeeper-batsman Haseebullah and left-arm spinner Mehran Mumtaz. Fast bowler Mohammad Ali and off-spinner Sajid Khan were also included.

Since making his Test debut against the West Indies in Dubai in 2016, Azam has missed only five Tests, two in his first series, one against England at Leeds in 2018 and two in New Zealand in 2020.

The axe fell on Azam, Shaheen and Naseem two days after the PCB reconstituted their selection panel bringing in former pace bowler Javed and Azhar Ali along with the incumbent Asad Shafiq. In a rare move the PCB also included former elite panel umpire Aleem Dar.

After Pakistan’s defeat, skipper Shan Masood and head coach Jason Gillespie backed Azam, saying he just needed time to regain his form. Azam was once the International Cricket Council’s top-ranked batsman in all three formats, and is still number one in the one-day international rankings.

Since the start of 2023 his form has nose dived. He averages under 21 in his last nine Tests, scoring just 126 in six innings in Australia and 64 in the two home Tests against Bangladesh last month.

Pakistan (from): Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel, Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Mehran Mumtaz, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Hurraira, Mohammad Rizwan, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Agha, Zahid Mehmood. — AFP