PAK vs ENG: Azhar Mahmood explains Pakistan's shift to four spinners in second Test

Pakistan's cricket team has announced a four-pronged spin attack for the second Test against England from October 15 in Multan. This decision comes as the team aims to secure vital wickets on a pitch that has proven challenging for both pace and spin bowlers.

Pakistan's playing XI was revealed on Monday, featuring a formidable spin quartet comprising Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mehmood, and all-rounder Salman Ali Agha. Opening batter Saim Ayub will also contribute as a part-time spinner, bringing the total spin options to five.

This change marks a departure from the previous match held at the same venue in Multan, where pace bowlers Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah were excluded from the lineup. Although spinner Abrar Ahmed played in the last game, he has been replaced by a similar bowling option.

During a pre-match press conference, Pakistan's assistant coach Azhar Mahmood elaborated on the rationale behind this strategic overhaul.

“Look, you have to take 20 wickets. On the pitch we are going to use, we have to think about how to take 20 wickets. We thought against England if we go with spin, try to dominate with spin, we have a chance of taking 20 wickets," he explained.

Mahmood highlighted that this marks the third home Test under the new management, and there has been a consistent struggle to secure 20 wickets, even with a pace-heavy attack.

"This is the third [home] Test under the new management. Even before that we were struggling to take 20 wickets, even with pace. So we thought we have better options with spin. There were also some niggles, for Naseem [Shah] and Shaheen [Afridi]," he said.

The pitch that hosted the first Test last week offered minimal assistance to both pace and spin bowlers. Pakistan scored an impressive 556 runs in their first innings, while England responded with a staggering 823-7. The same pitch will be utilized for the second Test, which is expected to play like a ninth-day surface.

Mahmood further detailed the team's approach for the home season, stating that they planned to prepare seaming wickets for the Bangladesh series in August while creating turning tracks for England's visit.

"We had a clear plan on what pitches to make against Bangladesh, and which way we have to go against England. Our approach was just this, that we will use seam against Bangladesh and spin against England, and make pitches accordingly," he said.

Reflecting on the previous match, Mahmood remarked, "If you look at the previous pitch, our instruction was that the ball should spin. We wanted that after the second day, the ball should spin. But you saw that even on the fifth day the ball didn't spin. So I hope that in the next Test match hopefully, on a ninth-day pitch the ball spins."

In the earlier Bangladesh series, Pakistan utilized an all-seam attack in the first Test, which initially appeared favorable but flattened as the game progressed. The team also adjusted their bowling combination between matches, echoing a similar strategy to the current England series, where Afridi and Shah were featured in the first Test but left out of the second.

Pakistan's Playing XI for the Second Test: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (C), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel (VC), Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mahmood.

England Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jamie Smith (wk), Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir