Babar Azam dropped for second England Test

Out-of-form batsman Babar Azam has been dropped 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 on Sunday, 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. 

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.