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Eng vs Pak – Introducing the new Pakistani alternatives to the Edgbaston Test


There were many cases of knee-jerk reactions Pakistan Cricket recently, but PCB resolution Sending as many as five uncapped players (and seven overall) to England, for a dead rubber, stunned everyone. Pakistan will play The third and final test At Edgbaston where the hosts actually won the series 2-0. Cricinfo is on hand to provide you with information on the careers of new players.

Of the five first-class cricketers called up for the last Test, Minhas – with three ODIs and four T20Is under his belt – is the only one with international experience. The left-arm bowler is the only Pakistani bowler to take five wickets on his ODI debut, a feat he achieved earlier this year. against Australiain Rawalpindi.

Minhas has played 17 first-class matches since making his debut for Pakistan Television in the 2024-25 season. He did well last season playing both the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy – after helping Multan qualify for the tournament – ​​and the President’s Trophy (which is played by divisional teams). He scored his maiden first-class century – 152 not out – Against Faisalabadin Multan’s ten-wicket victory.

Overall, his numbers in the 2025-26 first-class season read 684 runs at 34.20 and 13 wickets at 30.

Minhas has graduated to the highest levels of the game after proving himself in age group cricket. He played for Multan’s age group teams in tournaments organized by PCB before being snapped up by the top team in the region. He played in the 2024 U-19 World Cup and participated with Karachi Kings and Multan Sultans in the English Premier League.

The Karachi-born wicketkeeper-batsman performed exceptionally well in the last edition of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and played a pivotal role in helping the Karachi Blues lift the title by Conquer Sialkot In the final match. Baig was named Player of the Tournament due to his impressive batting form I collected 1000 points at 55.55.

All his four first-class centuries came in the 2025-26 edition of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and two of them were scored in the same match. Against Peshawar district at the Marghzar Cricket Stadium in Islamabad, helping Karachi to a massive 218-run win.

He also played for Khan Research Laboratories in the President’s Cup last season. Overall, he amassed 1,369 runs at 45.63 on the season with 56 dismissals – 50 catches and six catches – behind the stumps.

Baig is a product of PCB’s age group programs and captained the Minhas in the 2024 Under-19 World Cup where they lost to Australia by one wicket in the semi-final. He has been with Karachi Kings since 2024 but was mostly warm off the bench in his first season. He made his maiden half-century in the PSL this year and made seven appearances for them.

The left-arm pacer from Swat, northern Pakistan, played a crucial role in helping MIT Solutions secure qualification to the first division of the President’s Cup this year. He took 17 wickets at 27.65 in five matches that were not counted as first-class. He was a teammate of Abdullah Shafiq who earned a Test call-up for top-scoring in the tournament.

Imran played only eight matches in the first division. He made his debut in November 2022 and took 23 wickets at 30.86. He played a solitary first-class match in the 2025-26 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, his only appearance in the format last season. He returned with 3 for 85 and 0 for 46 for Peshawar District against Karachi Blues District, in the same match in which Baig scored his twin centuries.

He has been touring with Pakistan Shaheens in recent times. He played three matches in the Emerging Asia T20 Cup in 2024 and toured the UK under Saud Shakeel for three limited-overs matches and two red-ball matches, but did not feature in any of them.

His last competitive match was last month in the 50-over National Champions Trophy in Multan, where he took 1 for 34 in his tally. Appearance only In the tournament. Before that he featured in two completed T20 matches for Peshawar against Lahore Whites (1-17) and Faisalabad (0-39) in the National T20 Cup.

Imran recently attended a five-day camp for NCA fast bowlers, along with the following players in the Pakistan team.

The 21-year-old Rezaullah made his debut in the Pakistani domestic circuit in the 2025-26 season, for Peshawar and Sahir Associates in first-class, List A and T20 matches. The right-arm fast bowler hails from Mardan and has 30 wickets in eight first-class matches at 20.86. He has three five-wicket hauls in 14 innings.

That he could come in handy with the bat at the bottom of the order could have played a role in convincing the selectors to send him to the UK. Razaullah has a first-class century and half-century, both scored in the same match, v. Islamabad district. The hundred came in the second innings when he opened a 95-ball knock with 10 fours and five sixes.

This season, Rezaullah was selected by Rawalpindi, one of the two new teams in the Premier League, and played two matches for them. He took three wickets at 27.66, but at a high economy rate of 12.45.

He is the most experienced among the fast bowlers with over a decade of experience. Randhawa was born in Khanewal and made his first-class debut in the 2015–16 season. The right-armer has 110 first-class wickets at 34.83 in 58 matches and can bat too: he averages 26.52 and has two centuries and ten half-centuries.

He has taken 55 first-class wickets in the last two seasons at 26.45 and captained his home turf, Bahawalpur, in the National T20 Cup qualifiers and the event proper in the 2025-26 season.

He played for Multan Sultans in 2026 PSL. He also has three Premier League appearances under his belt when he featured for Dhaka Dominators in the 2023 edition.

Ehsan Iftikhar Naji is a cricket journalist based in Lahore

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