The management and selection committee of the Pakistan red-ball team has sought former skipper Babar Azam to be part of the squad for the first Test against South Africa, scheduled to begin on December 26 at SuperSport Park, Centurion, according to sources.
However, it should be noted that the right-handed batsman has been absent from the Test team since October this year due to his consistent poor form. After the first Test against England in Multan, he was not included in the squad for the next two Tests.
Now, the team management has decided to include Babar, who was just three innings away from completing 4,000 runs in Test cricket, in the first Test against South Africa.
To make room for him, Abdullah Shafiq, the out-of-form opener, who was dismissed for a duck in all three one-day internationals (ODIs) against South Africa, was left out of the Test squad. Instead, captain Shan Masood will open the innings alongside Saim Ayub, the sources said.
Shan, a left-handed opener with 38 caps, is currently ranked third 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.
Shan made his Test debut against South Africa in Abu Dhabi in October 2013, opening the innings in 46 of his 72 innings in Test cricket, scoring four centuries and five half-centuries as an opener.
On the other hand, Babar, who scored 148 runs with two half-centuries in three ODIs against South Africa, is returning to Test cricket after being dropped from the squad. This comes as he struggles to regain his form in the longer format.
Babar Azam scored 3,997 runs in 55 Test matches at an average of 54.46, with nine centuries. However, since his 161-run innings against New Zealand in Karachi in December 2022, he has struggled, managing just 366 runs in 18 innings without scoring a half-century.
His best score during this period was 41 runs in the second innings of the Melbourne Test against Australia in December 2023.