Opprobrium swirls around ever-changing host side but England hope to ride Multan momentum to series win

An already extraordinary Test series continues to surprise, even when no cricket is being played. If in the circumstances it was predictable that Pakistan might choose to shake up their team, the decision to drop their most famous and experienced player, the former captain Babar Azam, as well as their two key seamers, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, for both remaining matches against England comes as a profound shock. Sarfaraz Ahmed, another former captain, who did not play in the first game, has also been released.

Since England won the first Test by an innings and 47 runs on Friday afternoon, the Pakistan Cricket Board has rebooted first their selection panel and then the team. The new-look panel met in Lahore on Friday and again in Multan on Saturday, this time with Jason Gillespie, the team’s coach, and its captain, Shan Masood, whose position is also under threat.