Salman Ali Agha not only handed Babar Azam his captaincy back but also had to be the one dropped from the side in an otherwise unchanged playing XI for the Lord’s Test.
In five Test games this year, Salman has only gotten past 30 runs twice, with both innings ending in scores of 50 or more. Besides those two innings, he has been largely unimpressive, with two ducks.
Additionally, Salman’s record outside Asia also works against him, having scored only two fifties in eight games outside his home continent.
There was speculation that Pakistan might leave out either Imam-ul-Haq or Azan Awais to accommodate the returning Babar Azam. Without Salman, Pakistan will only bat until No. 5, with Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel forming the middle order alongside the captain.
England unchanged despite off-field controversy
England, meanwhile, did not tinker with the winning combination as they seek redemption at Lord’s following the off-field controversy earlier in the week. Babar called it correctly at the toss and opted to field first, with Root agreeing with his observation and saying he would have bowled first too.
“Looks pretty good pitch, though very different to last time. Get some runs on the board and, as we did last week, assess the situation,” said Root.
Playing XI for the Lord’s Test
Pakistan: 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Azan Awais, 3 Shan Masood, 4 Abdullah Shafique, 5 Babar Azam (capt), 6 Saud Shakeel, 7 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 8 Khurram Shahzad, 9 Ali Usman, 10 Mohammad Abbas, 11 Mohammad Ali
England: 1 Emilio Gay, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Jordan Cox, 4 Joe Root (capt), 5 Harry Brook, 6 Dan Lawrence, 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Ollie Robinson, 11 Josh Tongue
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