Abdullah Shafique Out Of Pakistan's Test Squad vs England? PCB's Clownery Surfaces

Abdullah Shafique [Source: AFP]The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made a slew of changes to the Pakistan squad shortly after losing the Lord’s Test to go 0-2 down in the series. On Monday, August 31, the PCB confirmed that they have released as many as seven players from the squad ahead of the third Test, and brought in two out-of-favour stars as well as five uncapped cricketers for the final match of the tour.It now appears that the PCB made a massive blunder while sending out its press note about squad update to the journalists. PCB forgets Abdullah Shafique’s presence in Pakistan teamIt has been a hectic week for Pakistan Cricket. Apart from dealing with the Imran Khan controversy and Pakistan’s struggling performance in England, the PCB selection committee recently revamped the Pakistan squad in a last-ditch effort ahead of the upcoming third Test in Birmingham.However, in doing so, the PCB made a massive blunder by not including the name of Abdullah Shafique in their press notes to the journalists. It is worth noting that Shafique has played each of the two Tests of the series against England so far, and was retained for the third Test even though the Pakistan team has just faced a major overhaul. Also Read- Mike Hesson Overnight Becomes Pakistan’s WTC Head Coach, Sarfaraz, Gul Travel PartnersWhile the PCB forgot to add the name of the 26-year-old in their press notes, the Pakistani board eventually added the cricketer’s name in the digital copies of their updated squad for the upcoming Birmingham Test. Here is a look at the complete updated Pakistan squad for the third and final Test of their England tour.Pakistan updated squad for 3rd Test vs EnglandBabar Azam (capt), Abdullah Fazal, Abdullah Shafique, Arafat Minhas, Azan Awais, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Imran, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Razaullah, Saad Baig (wk) Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Ubaid ShahHow Abdullah Shafique survived for third TestAbdullah Shafique escaped the axe as the 26-year-old was not among the seven Pakistani cricketers released from the squad for the upcoming third Test. Notably, the elegant top-order batter was himself included in the national squad as a replacement of injured Abdullah Fazal.So far in the series, Shafique has made 81 runs in four innings spanning both Tests at an average of 20.25. However, he punched out 61 of those runs in a single innings in testing Leeds conditions last month.Despite undergoing a below par series himself, the middle-order batter was likely retained in the Pakistan squad owing to his epic 160 against the West Indies just a few weeks ago. Making his return to the Pakistan team after missing the series in Bangladesh, the cricketer’s drought-ending century helped Pakistan level its two-match series in the Caribbean.PCB brings in new coachesApart from the seven players who were dropped or rested by the PCB for the third Test, the Pakistan management also brought in new head coach in the form of white-ball coach Mike Hesson.The New Zealander was brought in as replacement of Sarfaraz Ahmed, after the latter was sacked midway into the series. The PCB also brought Ashley Noffke as Pakistan's new bowling coach over Umar Gul.Also Read- Yuvraj Singh, Kuldeep Yadav Heartbroken: Cricketers React To Lionel Messi's Retirement