Pakistan’s selectors left out Shaheen Shah Afridi because his red-ball numbers no longer justify an automatic spot, not because of any injury. Aaqib Javed made the call on July 5, alongside dropping Hasan Ali and Noman Ali, saying the squad needed more pace for two crucial tours. Since returning from a knee injury, Shaheen has taken just 27 wickets in 16 innings at 40.11, with his pace dropping from the mid-140s into the low 130s. Pakistan sit ninth in the World Test Championship, making this England series pivotal.
Aaqib Javed’s Case For Change
Pakistan’s selectors made one of their most debated calls of the year when they left Shaheen Shah Afridi out of both the West Indies tour and the England series. Aaqib Javed, the director of high performance, said the squad needed more pace for the two assignments and that at times you have to choose which format takes priority.
The signal came earlier than the announcement itself. Shaheen wasn’t invited to a red-ball camp at the NCA the month before, a decision that already pointed toward his exclusion. Pakistan currently sits ninth and at the bottom of the World Test Championship standings, which raised the stakes on every selection call.
The exclusion list also included two other senior names, spinner Noman Ali and seamer Hasan Ali, suggesting selectors wanted a broader reset rather than a single change built around one bowler.
A Sharp Decline With The Ball
The numbers behind the decision are stark. In the Dhaka Test during a 2-0 series loss to Bangladesh in May, Shaheen conceded 113 runs from 31.1 overs for three wickets in the first innings, then went for 54 from 16 overs in the second. He was dropped for the very next Test in Sylhet.
Since his comeback in Galle, he has taken only 27 wickets in 16 innings at 40.11, with a strike rate of 67.6. His pace has slipped from a regular 145 km/h down to the high 120s and low 130s, and his overall Test average of 28.13 from 126 wickets shows exactly how far he has fallen from his peak.
None of this happened overnight. Shaheen’s workload across formats has been relentless for several years, and the drop in pace has tracked almost exactly with the rise in matches he has played across all three.
Pakistan England Test Series 2026 Shaheen Afridi Dropped
Four bowlers define what Pakistan’s attack looks like without him, from the veteran carrying the workload to the teenager thrown straight into Test cricket.
Bowler | Recent Form | Status |
|---|---|---|
Shaheen Afridi | Rested for the England series | Frontline white-ball spearhead |
Mohammad Abbas | 8 wickets vs West Indies, 1/78 vs England | 31 Tests, 119 wickets |
Khurram Shahzad | 3/133 at Headingley | 6 Tests, primary seamer |
Ubaid Shah | Test debut on August 2, 2026 | 1 Test, exciting new pace |
Mohammad Ali and Aamir Jamal round out the seam options, while left-arm spinner Ali Usman adds variety to a group selected largely on pace-gun evidence gathered at the NCA camp.
Abbas And Shahzad Lead The Attack
Mohammad Abbas carries the experience burden. The 36-year-old has 90 wickets from 25 Tests and leans on the accuracy he built during a long county career in English conditions, though his return against England so far has been modest.
Khurram Shahzad and debutant Ubaid Shah provide the pace variation instead. Ubaid, the youngest of the three Shah brothers and younger sibling of Naseem Shah, has already taken 72 first-class wickets in 16 matches since debuting domestically in October 2024. Left-arm spinner Ali Usman was the standout at Headingley, taking five wickets for 95 runs.
A Workload Question Behind The Decision
The rationale goes beyond red-ball numbers. Shaheen still captains Pakistan’s ODI side and carries a heavy white-ball load, leading Lahore Qalandars to 16 wickets in PSL 2026 before starring in the National Champions Cup with 13 wickets in four matches, including a hat-trick in the August 18 final. That workload includes captaining the T20 side too, spreading his bowling across three formats almost year-round.
Former paceman Mohammad Amir has pointed to workload management as part of the pace decline, and the Pakistan-England Test series 2026 Shaheen Afridi dropped decision looks, at its core, like selectors protecting his white-ball sharpness at the cost of his red-ball place, at least for this cycle.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why was Shaheen Afridi left out of Pakistan’s squad?
Selector Aaqib Javed cited the need for more raw pace. Shaheen’s pace has dropped into the high 120s and low 130s, well below the 145 km/h he once regularly bowled.
Who leads Pakistan’s pace attack against England now?
Mohammad Abbas leads the attack, backed by Khurram Shahzad and Ubaid Shah. Abbas has taken 90 wickets in 25 Tests, while 20-year-old Ubaid made his debut against the West Indies on August 2.
Is Shaheen Afridi injured right now?
No, the selectors describe it purely as a form and workload call. He proved his fitness with a 7 for 36 and a hat-trick in the National Champions Cup final on August 18.
How did Pakistan perform in the first England Test at Headingley?
Pakistan lost by an innings and 103 runs inside three days. Their pace trio conceded 300 runs for five wickets as England posted 409 at Headingley.
What is Shaheen Afridi’s career Test bowling average?
Shaheen’s career Test average sits at 28.13 from 126 wickets. That figure comes from 34 Tests, though his average since returning from injury has climbed to 40.11 across 16 innings.