Pakistan have named a 17-man squad, still captained by Babar Azam, for a three-Test tour of England running from August 19 to September 13, 2026, the latest and most demanding leg of the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle for a side looking to build on recent momentum in the Caribbean. The squad’s headline feature is not a returning veteran but four uncapped players handed their first senior Test call-ups: left-arm spinner Ali Usman, batter Muhammad Awais Zafar, fast bowler Ubaid Shah and wicketkeeper Muhammad Ghazi Ghori.
The Itinerary: Three Grounds, Three Weeks
The series opens at Headingley in Leeds from August 19-23, moves to the sport’s most storied venue at Lord’s in London from August 27-31, and concludes at Edgbaston in Birmingham from September 9-13. The compressed scheduling gives Pakistan’s squad, which arrived in England on August 9, limited time to acclimatize between matches, a logistical challenge compounded by the need to adjust from subcontinental and Caribbean conditions to English seam and swing bowling in the space of a few weeks.
Why Four Uncapped Players, Why Now
Handing four uncapped players Test squad spots for one of cricket’s most demanding away assignments is a notable selection gamble. English conditions, with their lateral seam movement and unpredictable weather, are widely regarded as among the hardest for touring sides to master, making the inclusion of untested players a bet on depth and long-term development rather than short-term results alone. Selectors appear to be using the tour as an opportunity to widen Pakistan’s pool of Test-ready players ahead of the remainder of the WTC cycle, even at the risk of throwing debutants into unfamiliar and difficult conditions.
The Players to Watch
Of the four uncapped selections, left-arm spinner Ali Usman’s inclusion is particularly notable given his bowling style is traditionally less suited to English pitches than to the turning tracks of home soil, suggesting selectors see him as a squad option for variety rather than a certain starter. Fast bowler Ubaid Shah, by contrast, profiles as a more conventional fit for English conditions, where pace and seam movement typically dictate outcomes. Batter Muhammad Awais Zafar and wicketkeeper Muhammad Ghazi Ghori round out the uncapped quartet, both likely to spend at least part of the tour observing and training alongside the squad’s more experienced top order.
Building on Momentum From the Caribbean
The squad announcement comes on the back of Pakistan’s recent Test series in the West Indies, where the touring side leveled a two-match series after being outplayed in the opening Test, a result that offered some evidence the squad can compete away from home despite a difficult recent overseas record. Whether that momentum, built largely on senior players finding form, translates into a stronger showing in England — a tour where Pakistan’s historical away record has been particularly poor — will be one of the central storylines of the series.
England’s Own Selection Backdrop
Pakistan arrive in England at a moment when the home side’s own Test setup has been in transition, with a new captaincy and coaching arrangement recently confirmed domestically. That context adds an extra layer of unpredictability to the series, as both sides will be testing personnel and combinations against each other rather than facing settled, battle-tested opposition. Series like this one, contested early in a transition period for the home side, can sometimes produce more competitive cricket than fixtures between two fully settled teams, since neither side has fully locked in its best available combination.
What’s at Stake in the WTC Table
Beyond the immediate result, the series carries weight in the ongoing 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle, where away wins remain scarce and disproportionately valuable to a team’s standing. A strong showing in England would represent one of Pakistan’s most significant results of the cycle given the historical difficulty of touring there, while a heavy defeat would raise fresh questions about the wisdom of blending youth and inexperience into a squad facing one of Test cricket’s toughest away assignments. Fans and selectors alike will be watching closely whether the uncapped quartet get genuine opportunities across the three Tests, or whether they remain squad depth for a series ultimately decided by Pakistan’s more experienced core.