Pak vs Eng – Salman Agha – a win for Pakistan will be ‘huge’ after a thrilling match

Pakistan scrapped their long-term plans after an innings defeat in the first Test, making four changes and packing their team with spin options after opting to reuse the same strip for the second week in a row. Salman admitted that he was expecting a difficult week after so much turmoil, but said that he was impressed by the response of his colleagues.

“To be honest, I was thinking, ‘It’s going to be tough,'” Salman told Sky Sports. “There have been a lot of changes – big changes. But the way the team has grown, the way the new guys have come in and we’ve welcomed them. [has been great]. They entered and entered.

“Look Sajid [Khan]. He took seven wickets and scored important runs. Then you will see Noman Ali. He came and took wickets and scored important runs. I think it is very good for Pakistan cricket, the way they have come in and contributed. That’s incredible.”

“We have to face the facts. It’s the ninth day the wicket will be played tomorrow, and as we can see, it does a lot for the batsmen. There’s a lot of cracks there… [But] we all know when you get listed and get a partnership, anything can happen. It would be one hell of a chase. It’s something we’re obviously going to enjoy and try to do.”

Pakistan have not won a home Test match since beating South Africa in February 2021, drawing four and losing seven since then, and have lost all six of their matches in the last 12 months. Salman said ending those incidents would be “very important” and that Pakistan would give its all on the fourth day.

“It will be big, because we haven’t won a Test match at home… I don’t know, God knows how many years now,” he said. “It’s going to be a big thing for us. We’re going to make sure that we put in every effort and make sure that we win this game, because that’s very important to us.”