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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) left out several star players from its Test team, which lost 0-2 against Bangladesh. On Sunday, the board announced the squad for the upcoming Test series against West Indies and England respectively.
Star fast bowler Shaheen Afridi is among the notable absentees in the newly selected squad for the longest format of the game. Before the Test, the selectors removed from the squad those frontline bowlers who had represented the national team during the Test series against Bangladesh.
Why did PCB exclude Shaheen Afridi from Test?
Ignoring Shaheen Afridi is a big deal for the selectors, as the fast bowler has been serving the team for a long time and has a great reputation. When reporters asked the national cricket team selectors the reason for dropping Shaheen Afridi from the team, Aaqib Javed mentioned that the veteran fast bowler lacked significant pace during the team’s previous tour, which led the selectors to drop the premier bowler from the team.
Director of selectors and high performance Aaqib Javed said, “We are concerned about the pace of our fast bowlers. It is unacceptable that their pace drops to 126 kmph on the second or third day of a Test, as happened in Bangladesh. We have brought in Ubaid Shah for this purpose and we have made these changes based on the evidence, including the use of the speed gun, that we gathered in the recent camp.”
“We feel we need momentum for the next two series and these bowlers, who have been selected for the next five Tests, will also have to cement their place with their performances. It (selection) is all about the conditions,” he said.
We do not have the right to take decisions regarding anyone’s career; We felt the need for more pace – Aaqib Javed on Shaheen Afridi being dropped
VC: PCB#Cricket | #Pakistan #Aqibjaved #ShaheenAfridi #Lahore pic.twitter.com/dnjkV91nWg
— Khel Shell (@khelshel) July 5, 2026
Ubaid Shah: An emerging fast bowler of Pakistan
Along with Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas and Khurram Shehzad are the other bowlers who lacked a proper pacer during the two-match Test series against Bangladesh. While Abbas and Shahzad remain part of the Test team, the selectors have expressed high expectations from Ubaid Shah.
20-year-old right-arm fast bowler Ubaid Shah has taken 72 first-class wickets in 16 matches since his debut in October 2024. Experienced spinner Noman Ali has also been dropped from the team as he did not perform well enough to meet the expectations in the previous assignments.
Babar Azam is the captain of the team
Babar Azam has retained his place in the Test team as captain. The selectors have chosen Babar as the captain of the team in place of Shan Masood, who had led the team since December 2024. Masood has been removed from the leadership role but remains in the team as a batsman.
Before the Bangladesh series, Shaheen Afridi said that it was his dream to play the final of the World Test Championship (WTC). Currently, the team is placed ninth in the nine-team points table as they are yet to enter their points table in the current cycle of the Test Championship.
The Pakistan cricket team will fly to the Caribbean islands in mid-July to face West Indies for a two-match Test series, followed by a 3-match Test series against England.
