Fawad Alam should be dropped for third England Test: Michael Vaughan

England’s former cricketer Michael Vaughan, in a Cricbuzz interview on Monday, stated that Pakistan’s batsman Fawad Alam should be dropped from the side to make way for all-rounder Shadab Khan so that the Men in Green would have an extra spin option for the third Test against the hosts.

The 45-year-old claimed that Pakistan had surprised him with the way they have gone about scoring decent first-innings runs during the first two Tests against England.

“The Pakistan team has surprised me this week by getting that score in the first innings. Realistically they should have been bowled out for 150 or 170. Rizwan played beautifully, reading the conditions nicely. Babar Azam is in a decent run of form and Abid Ali got a nice 60 at the top of the order," said Vaughan.  

"I would just make one change and bring Shadab Khan in for Fawad Alam, just because we saw some spin in the last match. Also, I think they will use the same pitch, as the last Test match, because of lack of time to prepare a new one due to bad weather. So, you would want that extra spinning option and a player who has shown that he can bat in these English conditions,” he added.

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Vaughan also said that Pakistan’s pacer Mohammad Abbas was a major threat because of his phenomenal record in English conditions.

“He loves bowling with the Dukes ball. You can look to his record when he played for Leicestershire in the county championship. He has a phenomenal record. England were trying to play him by walking out and getting the pads outside off stump. They were trying to take out the LBW and bowled options with that. He still had the outside edge to aim for. He is a wonderful bowler. You can tell when an opposition team has meetings on how to play him, you know he is a real threat,” he said.

The former cricketer praised the bowling attacks of both sides heading into the third Test, while claiming that a classic was on the cards due to the talent involved.

“I think in the Pakistan attack Shaheen Shah did not bowl a great deal but he bowled a few bouncers which was nice to see. Naseem Shah bowled ok. He wasn’t quite his best, the way he bowled at Manchester. I think we are going to see in the third Test two teams that can get 20 wickets, so it comes down to which batting unit can play with more skills and attrition. They might have to play with a little flamboyancy at times and take a few risks. There is a high-class seam attack on both sides. I think we are in for an absolute classic,” he concluded.

The third Test between England and Pakistan will be played at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. The hosts currently lead the three-match series one-nil, after the second Test ended in a draw due to a combination of irregular weather and bad light delays.