According to sources, the management and selection committee of Pakistan’s Red Ball team have asked former captain Babar Azam to be a part of the squad for the first Test against South Africa starting December 26 at the SuperSport Park, Centurion.
However, it should be noted that the right-handed batsman has been absent from the Test squad since October this year due to his continuous poor form. After the first Test against England in Multan, he was left out of the squad for the next two Tests.
Now the team management has decided to include Babar, who is just three runs short of completing 4000 runs in Test cricket, in the first Test against South Africa.
To make way for him, out-of-form opener Abdullah Shafiq, who was dismissed for a wicket in all three one-day internationals (ODIs) against South Africa, has been dropped from the Test squad. Sources said that instead, captain Shan Masood will open the innings with Saeem Ayub.
Shaun, a left-handed opener with 38 Test caps, is currently batting at No.3 in the Test team. However, opening the innings will not be a new experience for him, as he started his Test career as an opener.
Sean made his Test debut against South Africa in Abu Dhabi in October 2013, and opened the innings in 46 of his 72 innings in Test cricket, scoring four centuries and five fifties as an opener.
On the other hand, Babar, who scored 148 runs with the help of two half-centuries in three ODIs against South Africa, is returning to Test cricket after being dropped from the team. This comes at a time when they are struggling to regain their form in the longer format.
Babar Azam has scored 3,997 runs in 55 Test matches with nine centuries at an average of 54.46. However, since his innings of 161 against New Zealand in Karachi in December 2022, he has struggled, managing just 366 runs in 18 innings without a half-century.
His best score during this period was 41 in the second innings of the Melbourne Test against Australia in December 2023.