It was January 2021 against South Africa when Pakistan celebrated their last home Test series victory before they faced England, Australia, New Zealand, and Bangladesh to end on the wrong side of the finishing side on every single occasion. Even in this three-match Test series against England, they started with an innings defeat against England in Multan.
The pressure on the Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood and their newly appointed head coach Jason Gillespie was getting high, especially when the loss came despite them putting over 550 runs on the board in the first innings. The board decided to change the whole selection committee, which took some vital decisions before the second Test.
They dropped three poster boys of the team, Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Naseem Shah, all of whom were struggling in the format for a long time, and decided to reward the domestic performers. Two of their spinners, Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, also returned for the side as they recycled the first Test surface.
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Ben Stoked-led’s side had no answer against those two quality spinners as their batting was blown away in the same two encounters, which helped the home side to earn a historic 2-1 series victory.
Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah congratulate Pakistan after 2-1 series win
All of the veteran players of the Green Brigade commended the contributions of their teammates, who showed outstanding performances in all departments of the game. The left-arm pacer of the side expressed his gratitude towards the spinners and the left-handed middle-order batter Saud Shakeel for their stellar performances.
The spin-duo bowled 181.3 overs in the last two games of the series, where they concerned 678 runs at an average of 17.38, picking up 39 of the 40 England wickets, and that showed one of the craziest contributions from those two bowlers. Shakeel finished as the third-highest run-getter of the series with 280 runs in five innings at an average of 56.
“Thank you to the spinners and Saud Shakeel for their commendable performance in the series.” The veteran left-arm pacer of the side expressed on his social media.
The right-arm pacer of the team, Naseem Shah has put the weight on the resilience of his team as he posted his view on his Instagram story after the nine-wicket win for the national side in the third Test in Rawalpindi.
“Never underestimate Pakistan. We may get down, but we’re never out. Proud to see @noman. ali2015official & @sajidkhan_244 showing their class.” Shah wrote.
The former vice-captain of the team, who has been a premier all-rounder for a long time, especially in the two white-ball formats, Shadab Khan, has also taken to the social media platform to hail the comeback of his teammates besides highlighting the contribution of Noman and Sajid.
“This is what home advantage looks like; all teams in the world use it. Pakistan cricket can never be kept down. Congratulations to the entire team & country. Thank you, Nomi bhai & Sajid bhai, for bringing smiles back to everyone.” Shadab penned down the celebration of the victory.
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The former Test captain of the Pakistan side, Babar Azam, also shook hands in the celebration as he praised the team for their exceptional turnaround.
“Phenomenal effort once again to make a grand comeback. Amazing turnaround by Noman and Sajid! Congratulations, Team Pakistan.” The Lahore-born posted on Instagram.
The next white-ball series for the side in their trip to Australia is expected to see the return of these players, as they will also start preparations for their red-ball tour to South Africa.