Pakistan’s Test squad for England has been shaped as much by opportunity as by necessity. The Pakistan Cricket Board’s 17-member group, announced with Babar Azam retained as captain following his side’s series-levelling win in the West Indies, includes four uncapped players: left-arm spinner Ali Usman, right-hand batter Muhammad Awais Zafar, fast bowler Ubaid Shah, and wicketkeeper-batter Muhammad Ghazi Ghori. Batting all-rounder Saud Shakeel has been added as the squad’s 17th member, subject to a fitness clearance, giving selectors flexibility as the tour begins.
Three Tests, One Big Storyline
The series runs across three venues with real symbolic weight: Headingley in Leeds from August 19-23, Lord’s from August 27-31, and Edgbaston in Birmingham from September 9-13. But the tour’s dominant narrative arrived from the home side rather than the tourists. Joe Root has been confirmed as England’s full-time Test captain again, four years after stepping down in 2022, and this series marks his first assignment back in the role — a decision widely reported to have been driven partly by Root’s desire to work under new England men’s Test head coach Stephen Fleming.
Root’s Motivations, In His Own Words
Root has been candid about why he wanted the job back. “It is a great honour and privilege to be asked to be England men’s Test captain again,” Root said following his reappointment, adding that “the opportunity to do that alongside Stephen is also a huge motivator,” a reference to Fleming’s arrival as head coach. It is a notably different tone from the exhausted farewell Root gave in 2022, when the accumulated toll of the role — three defeats in a row and a chorus of criticism — had visibly worn him down.
Stokes’ Guarded Blessing
Not everyone around the England camp is unreservedly enthusiastic. Ben Stokes, who took over the captaincy from Root in 2022 and has led the side through the “Bazball” era, offered a pointed note of caution about his teammate’s return. “That’s all I really care about now with Rooty, just because I’ve seen what he went through and how much he put himself through,” Stokes said, according to comments carried by Cricket Times. “For someone, he just always puts the team first and he always comes second. That’s my only concern with it, knowing what he went through last time he was in charge of the team.” Stokes tempered the concern with genuine support, adding he hoped Root would “go on and achieve amazing things” in the role.
Pakistan’s Selection Gamble
For Pakistan, naming four uncapped players for an English tour is a departure from the conservative selection policies of recent years. It reflects both a genuine changing of the guard in Pakistan’s domestic pipeline and the selectors’ calculation that English conditions — swinging Dukes balls, overcast skies, and pitches that reward classical technique — are as good a proving ground as any for players who have dominated at first-class level. Critics within Pakistan’s cricket media have questioned whether throwing debutants into a three-Test series against a rejuvenated England attack, rather than blooding them in a home series first, risks scarring confidence rather than building it.
The Weight of History
Pakistan have not won a Test series in England since 1996, and recent tours have been chastening experiences against home conditions that consistently expose technical deficiencies against the moving ball. Babar’s own return to form in the Caribbean — where Pakistan’s spin attack rather than its batting did the heavy lifting — offers little direct evidence about how this batting-heavy squad will cope with Dukes-ball seam movement at Headingley and Lord’s.
What’s Next
The series arrives at a pivotal early moment in the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle, in which both teams currently sit outside the top two positions occupied by Australia and South Africa. For Root, a winning start to his second captaincy stint would validate the Fleming-driven decision to bring him back; for Babar and Pakistan’s uncapped newcomers, Headingley represents a baptism that could define careers one way or the other. Expect team news and final XIs to sharpen the picture in the days before the first ball is bowled on August 19.