Pakistan stick with spin-heavy squad for third and final Test against England | Cricket news

NEW DELHI: Pakistan decided to stick with their heavy line-up for the third and final Test against England, which will take place on Thursday. Both teams are hoping for a dry pitch, which favors slow bowlers.
Grounds workers have been working for the past four days using industrial-sized fans and outdoor heaters to dry the track. This effort aligns with Pakistan captain Shan Masood’s strategy to counter England’s aggressive batting.
In the second Test, left-arm spinner Noman Ali and off-spinner Sajid Khan took 20 wickets for England on a reused Multan pitch, leveling the series at 1-1.

England had dominated the first Test, winning by an innings after posting a record 823-7, highlighted by Harry Brook’s triple century and Joe Root’s career-best score of 262.
Leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood, Pakistan’s third specialist slow bowler, bowled just six wickets in England’s first innings and was not needed in their second innings, where England collapsed for 144 races against Ali and Khan. The match ended with Pakistan winning by 152 runs.
“The wicket is very dry and there’s not a lot of grass,” Pakistan head coach Jason Gillespie said on Wednesday. “We’re probably hoping it favors the slower bowlers.”
The pitching is expected to play a crucial role, and the spinners are likely to take over as the game progresses.
“It’s (the pitch) a 50-50 call, you always want it to go your way,” Gillespie said. “Both teams will have that mentality, but yeah, we’ll see.”
Anticipating a spin-friendly wicket, England have recalled leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed to join the slow bowling attack along with left-arm spinner Jack Leach and spinner Shoaib Bashir.
“Who knows what will happen?” said England captain Ben Stokes after the final training session at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. “It looks really good at the moment (but) with some cricket, it could change. We think the more time goes by, the more spin will come into play.”
Shoaib Bashir has replaced Matthew Potts in the England squad, while Gus Atkinson will replace rested bowler Brydon Carse.
The reverse swing with the old ball may be less effective due to a greener square on either side of the wicket.
“The plaza is very lush and green,” Stokes said. “It’s going to be hard to manufacture the reverse swing. The longer the games go on, the more spin is going to happen.”
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (captain), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Rizwan, Aamer Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mahmood.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.