Pakistan likely playing XI for fourth T20I against England

The fourth T20I between England and Pakistan will be played on Thursday at The Oval, London.

England leads the four-match series 1-0, having won the second T20I, while the first and third T20I in Leeds and Cardiff respectively were washed out due to rain.

Despite Saim Ayub's recent poor form, Pakistan is considering including him in the playing XI again. However, there are discussions within the management about replacing Saim with Usman Khan as the opener before the T20 World Cup. If Usman is selected, he will open alongside his Multan Sultans teammate Mohammad Rizwan, with captain Babar Azam slated to bat at number three.

The middle order comprises powerful hitters like Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan who will don the wicketkeeping gloves, Iftikhar Ahmed, and all-rounder Imad Wasim, offering the team a solid foundation for scoring runs and accelerating the innings when required.

Pakistan are likely to go with a four-man pace attack which will be led by Shaheen Afridi, and supported by Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah and Mohammad Amir.

Shadab Khan, who conceded 55 runs in his four overs without taking a wicket in the first T20I, is expected to be replaced by Naseem Shah due to his poor performance and the overcast conditions forecasted for Thursday. However, if the weather improves, Abrar Ahmed might be considered to give him some game time ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Pakistan’s likely XI:

Saim Ayub/Usman Khan, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam (C), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah/Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Amir