Hasan Ali's 'heartfelt message' to 'brothers' Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah after trio excluded from Test squad

Pakistan have taken decisive action, announcing that Babar Azam, Naseem Khan, and Shaheen Afridi will not be playing for the remainder of the series against England due to their poor form.

With this being a decision receiving mixed responses from fans in Pakistan, the three players were nonetheless backed up and shown confidence by a teammate. Fast-bowler Hasan Ali took to social media to share his support towards the trio.

In a post on X, Hasan Ali wrote: “Tough times only make comebacks sweeter! My brothers, you're champions! You've done wonders for Pakistan and will continue do so.”

“Keep believing and you'll be back stronger than ever, Inshallah!” concluded Ali, with a Pakistan flag alongside the post as well.

Pakistan have slipped to six consecutive Test losses under the captaincy of Shan Masood, who has not enjoyed start to life with the weight of expectations on him. This follows a disastrous T20 World Cup campaign earlier this year in North America and the West Indies, where a group stage exit placed Pakistan’s white-ball squad under a microscope.

While plenty of Pakistan’s incumbent players remain, the removal of these big name players might provide Pakistan an opportunity to go for a clean-slate approach and hit the refresh button on a team that has been struggling and seeming stagnating in recent months.

Hasan Ali himself was part of the Test setup at the beginning of the year as Pakistan toured Australia, but a 3-0 whitewash in that series meant he has not been picked up for the red-ball squad in subsequent series. Pace-bowling with experience, however, will be a big concern for Pakistan now.

Masood will remain in charge of the team for the time being, but he will undoubtedly be feeling the heat, and will especially be under the pump if Pakistan fail to produce a result against England. Having already lost to Bangladesh 2-0 in their series earlier this year at home, fans won;t be satisfied with the losses beginning to add up for the men in green.