PAK vs ENG 2024: Babar Azam's replacement Kamran Ghulam smashes century on Test debut

Kamran Ghulam, who replaced Babar Azam in Pakistan’s playing XI against England, scored a century on his Test debut. The 29-year-old did a fantastic job in the domestic circuit, averaging 49.17 in first-class cricket but was never in the scheme of things as far as Test cricket is concerned. A few of the former cricketers including Ahmed Shahzad advised PCB to give him a chance, but with Babar firm at number four, the opportunity never arrived for Ghulam.

With Babar dropped amid poor for,, Ghulam got his opportunity and made the most of it, as he became the second Pakistan player after Saleem Malik (1982 vs Sri Lanka) to score a Test century on debut while batting at number four. He also became the 116th cricketer and 13th Pakistan player to score a ton on his Test debut. 

Special moment for Kamran Ghulam! 🌟

He brings up a stellar 💯 on debut with his family watching 🙌#PAKvENG | #TestAtHome pic.twitter.com/Y1hrau9D7w

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 15, 2024

Notably, Pakistan were struggling on 19/2 when Ghulam walked in. After suffering an embarrassing defeat of an inning and 47 runs in the first game at the same venue, the hosts were under tremendous pressure as they had got off to a poor start in the second Test as well.

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However, that is when Ghulam built a strong 149-run partnership with Saim Ayub to bail Pakistan out of trouble. He took some time to settle but also punished bad balls to release the pressure. Once Ayub departed for 77, the onus once again fell on Ghulam to rescue the team. He eventually finished with 118 runs to his name as spinner Shoaib Bashir got the better of him.

Pakistan needed someone from the middle-order to deliver and Ghulam stepped up at the right time, which should give him plenty of confidence while increasing the worries for Babar. The Shan Masood-led side too needs to invest well in him to get better results in the future.

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Meanwhile, Mohammad Rizwan and and Agha Salman remained unbeaten on 37 and 5 respectively to end the day, with Pakistan on 259/5. While the hosts would be content with their performance, the same could not be said for visitors England as they would have liked to pick more wickets on the opening day.