Under-pressure Pakistan Test cricket captain Shan Masood will continue to lead the side in the upcoming series against England despite losing his first five matches at the helm.

Masood, a 34-year-old top-order batter, kept his place as Pakistan named a 15-man squad on Tuesday for next month’s first Test in the southeastern city of Multan.

Following Pakistan’s shock 2-0 home series loss against Bangladesh in August, local media had speculated that Masood faced an axe ahead of a busy Test calendar for the team.

Pakistan had never lost a Test match to Bangladesh before and the twin defeats in Rawalpindi also marked only the second time that Pakistan lost all matches in a series at home, the first instance coming in 2022 against England, their opponents in an upcoming series.

It took Masood’s record to five losses since replacing Babar Azam as skipper in November. He lost his first series 3-0 in Australia.

The left-handed opener’s batting form remains below par as he has failed to score a Test century since August 2020 and has a batting average of 28.6 in his five matches as captain.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) stuck with Masood as their Australian head coach Jason Gillespie sought consistency.

Pakistan currently languish in eighth position in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) men’s Test team rankings with 76 rating points after 20 matches in the current cycle of the World Test Championship. Australia lead the table with 124 points, with India close behind and England are third.

The first of three Pakistan-England Tests starts in Multan on October 7, the second will be played in the same city from October 15 and the third in Rawalpindi from October 24.

The PCB said the team announcement was for the first Test only.

“The 15-man squad is for the first Test and based on the recommendation of head coach Gillespie, the selected players will attend a training camp in Multan from October 1,” the board said in a press release.

Left-arm spinner Noman Ali has replaced fast bowler Khurram Shahzad, who is recovering from a side strain.

Pacer Mohammad Ali, who played both Bangladesh Tests, and batter Kamran Ghulam, an unused member of the squad, have been dropped.

All-rounder Aamer Jamal returns after missing the Bangladesh series with a back problem.

“We are very much looking forward to the series against England here in Pakistan and cannot wait for it to begin,” Gillespie was quoted as saying by the PCB.

Squad (for first Test): Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel, Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Mir Hamza, Muhammad Hurraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Shaheen Shah Afridi.