Pakistan vs England Match Preview, 2nd Test

Pakistan will take on England in the second Test at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan on October 15. Pakistan have been grappling to get back their lost form as the team has not won a Test at home since 2022. They lost the series to Bangladesh by 0-2 and continued the dismal form against England as the visitors outclassed them by an innings and 47 runs.

Following the lackluster display, the hosts have dropped their key players, Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Naseem Shah for the remainder of the series. Kamran Ghulam is going to make his debut tomorrow. On the other hand, England have rested Gus Atkinson and Chris Woakes for the second Test and Ben Stokes will be returning to action after being rested for the last four Tests due to hamstring tear. Another inclusion is pacer, Matthew Potts.

Also Read: Pakistan announce squad for last two Tests against England; Babar, Shaheen, Naseem dropped

Match Details:

Pitch Report

The Multan pitch is a batter’s paradise and it remained the same for almost four days of the first Test. Spinners can get some purchase as the second Test is going to be played on the same track. On the weather front, the skies will be clear with no rain threat.

Head-To-Head Record

PAK vs ENG Playing XIs

Pakistan

Pakistan have dropped Babar, Shaheen, and Naseem for the remaining two Tests. They have roped in uncapped Kamran Ghulam, Haseebullah, and Mehran Mumtaz along with Sajid Khan and Noman Ali into the squad. Notably, they have decided to field Kamran, Noman, and Sajid for the second Test.

Playing XI - Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel (vc), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mehmood

England

England have stuck with the same combination with just two changes in the form of Stokes and Potts. Potts has replaced Woakes. The pacer played his last game for England at Lord’s against Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, Stokes will take the captaincy reigns from Ollie Pope in this match.

Playing XI - Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir