Pak vs SA: Will Babar Azam be a part of first Take a look at squad?

Pakistan’s Babar Azam walks again to pavilion after his dismissal throughout a Take a look at match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi on September 2, 2024. — AFP 

The administration and choice committee of Pakistan’s red-ball crew sought former skipper Babar Azam to be a part of the squad for the primary Take a look at in opposition to South Africa, scheduled to start on December 26 at SuperSport Park, Centurion, based on sources. 

Nevertheless, it ought to be famous that the right-handed batsman has been absent from the Take a look at squad since October this yr on account of his constant poor kind. After the primary Take a look at in opposition to England in Multan, he was not included within the crew for the subsequent two Assessments.

Now, the crew administration has determined to incorporate Babar, who’s simply three runs in need of finishing 4,000 runs in Take a look at cricket, for the primary Take a look at in opposition to South Africa.

To make room for him, out-of-form opener Abdullah Shafique, who was dismissed for a duck in all three one-day internationals (ODIs) in opposition to South Africa, has been dropped from the Take a look at squad. As a substitute, captain Shan Masood will open the innings alongside Saim Ayub, mentioned the sources. 

Shan, a left-handed opener with 38 Take a look at caps, at the moment bats at quantity 3 within the Take a look at crew. Nevertheless, opening the innings won’t be a brand new expertise for him, as he started his Take a look at profession as an opener. 

Shan made his Take a look at debut in opposition to South Africa in Abu Dhabi in October 2013, and has opened the innings in 46 of his 72 innings in Take a look at cricket, scoring 4 centuries and 5 half-centuries as an opener.

Alternatively, Babar, who scored 148 runs with two half-centuries in three ODIs in opposition to South Africa, is making a comeback to Take a look at cricket after being dropped from the crew. This comes at a time when he’s struggling to regain his kind within the longer format. 

Babar Azam has scored 3,997 runs in 55 Take a look at matches at a mean of 54.46, with 9 centuries. Nevertheless, since his 161-run innings in opposition to New Zealand at Karachi in December 2022, he has confronted difficulties, managing solely 366 runs in 18 innings with out scoring a half-century. 

His finest rating throughout this era was 41 runs within the second innings of the Melbourne Take a look at in opposition to Australia in December 2023.