'Liking, disliking it kills our cricket' - Netizens react after Pakistan drop key players from squad for home Test series against England

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), on Monday, announced an 18-member squad for their forthcoming Test series against England at home. The reigning T20 World Champions are all set to tour Pakistan after concluding their ODI series against Australia. While Pakistan’s squad looks strong, there were some notable exclusions that irked Pakistani cricket fans.

Abrar Ahmed and Mohammad Ali received their maiden call-ups and will be making their debut in the series, and even Haris Rauf has earned a place in the team after showcasing some consistent performances recently.

Pakistan’s pace sensation Shaheen Shah Afridi will be out of the scheme of things for the series as he has been recovering from the injury that he suffered during the T20 World Cup 2022 finale against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Fawad Alam's exclusion makes fans curious

A few notable names like Fawad Alam, Yasir Shah, and Hasan Ali among others have missed out on the squad. Fawad Alam, a specialist in the format, had not been at his best in the previous two series against Sri Lanka and Australia, but his exclusion from the Test squad came as a shocker for many. Many fans even questioned the exclusion of Mir Hamza from the roster.

Yasir Shah, on the other hand, was not much impressive against Australia, but made a brilliant comeback against Sri Lanka and ended up picking nine wickets. Interestingly, former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed made his way back into the side.

The two teams clashed before the T20 World Cup for the first leg of the series, as England toured Pakistan for seven T20Is. It was a cut-throat competition between the two teams as the series came down to the seventh and final game after Pakistan and England won three matches each. Eventually, England emerged victorious and won the series 4-3.

The two teams will now face each other in three Tests starting December 01, Thursday. While the first game is scheduled at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, the second and third games will take place at the Multan Cricket Stadium and the National Stadium in Karachi.

 Here's how the Twitter reacted: