Pakistan release Zahid Mahmood, Noman Ali from squad

Pakistan released leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood and left-arm orthodox Noman Ali from their squad on the first day of the first Test against England in Multan

Pakistan had announced their squad for only the first Test with Mahmood being the late addition, becoming the 16th player. The leg-spinner was added a day after Pakistan had announced their 15 for the opening Test. He has made only two Test appearances that had come during England's last tour of Pakistan in December 2022 and took 12 wickets across four innings.

Ali had been a regular fixture in the Pakistan side until last year. He had to return home from Australia before the start of Pakistan's Test tour last December due to acute appendicitis and was not named in the 17-player squad for the two Bangladesh Tests in August and September.

Pakistan had trimmed their squad to 15 and replaced injured Khurram Shahzad with Ali.

In the lead up to this series, Shan Masood had noted that Pakistan had opted to limit the number of players in the squad to make sure each individual gets due attention from the support staff.

The move, however, leaves Pakistan with only three reserves players - Mohammad Huraira, Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Mir Hamza - and limited options in case they need concussion substitutes.