ENG vs PAK 3rd Test predicted playing XI: Likely Pakistan and England lineups after wholesale changes in visitors' squad

ENG vs PAK 3rd Test predicted playing XI: Likely Pakistan and England lineups after wholesale changes in visitors' squad originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Pakistan have made seven changes to their squad, including five uncapped players.

Babar Azam is set to open the batting alongside a completely reshuffled top order.

England has left out Brydon Carse following his nightclub incident in Derby.

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Dead rubber Test match becomes a fresh start for Pakistan

England arrive at Edgbaston with the series already won, having sealed a 2-0 lead through an innings and 103-run victory at Headingley and a 194-run win at Lord's. The dead rubber offers Joe Root's side the freedom to manage workloads and assess depth ahead of a busy winter.

Pakistan, by contrast, has used the same dead rubber as the trigger for one of the most sweeping overhauls in their recent Test history. Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar, and Khurram Shahzad were all released from the squad, with head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul also relieved of their duties.

Mike Hesson takes interim charge of the Test side alongside former Australia seamer Ashley Noffke and has been explicit about what he wants to see. "Pakistan is known for the pace, unusual actions, and mystery spin; we haven't really been able to present any of that," Hesson said. "From my perspective, it is about putting a balanced squad together, not only for this Test, so we actually have some variety in our attack."

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England's predicted XI vs. Pakistan for the 3rd Test at Edgbaston

England have left out Brydon Carse for the match, with the seamer dropped from Joe Root's squad following the incident outside a Derby nightclub during the second Test. His omission opens a place in the pace attack, though England are expected to retain the core of the side that has dominated the series so far.

Ollie Robinson, whose match figures of 8 for 80 at Lord's took him past Jasprit Bumrah for the best Test bowling average of any bowler with at least 20 Tests since the First World War, is certain to keep his place. Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson complete a seam attack that has given Pakistan's batters no respite in English conditions.

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Ben Duckett

Emilio Gay

Jordan Cox

Joe Root (c)

Harry Brook

Dan Lawrence

Jamie Smith (wk)

Gus Atkinson

Ollie Robinson

Jofra Archer

Shoaib Bashir

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Pakistan's predicted XI vs. England for the 3rd Test at Edgbaston

Babar Azam returns to lead a side that bears little resemblance to the one beaten at Lord's. Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal, with eight and two Test caps between them, come in as recognised top-order options, while five uncapped players have been added to the wider squad.

Of those uncapped names, wicketkeeper-batter Saad Baig, who was named Player of the Tournament in the 2025-26 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, and left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder Arafat Minhas look best placed to force their way into the XI. Left-arm seamer Ubaid Shah and off-spinner Sajid Khan give Hesson the variety he has publicly demanded.

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Azan Awais

Abdullah Shafique

Saim Ayub

Babar Azam (c)

Saud Shakeel

Saad Baig (wk)

Mohammad Imran Randhawa

Arafat Minhas

Mohammad Ali

Mohammad Abbas

Ubaid Shah

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A dead rubber is precisely the right occasion to find out what Saad Baig or Arafat Minhas can offer at this level, and blooding five uncapped players in a match Pakistan have little realistic chance of winning carries limited downside. Hesson's stated priority of balance and variety is also the correct diagnosis of what has been missing.

The concern is less about this test and more about what it signals. Seven players discarded in one announcement, two coaches removed mid-series and a captaincy merry-go-round that has left Salman Ali Agha as captain in one Test and out of the squad entirely by the next suggests a board reacting to headlines rather than executing a plan.

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Edgbaston may offer Pakistan a glimpse of their future, but stability, not another reshuffle, is what that future actually needs.

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