Pakistan’s star pacer Shaheen Afridi has been left out of the second Test against Bangladesh, set to begin on August 30 in Rawalpindi.

Coach Jason Gillespie said on Thursday that the team wants Shaheen to be able to spend time with his family after the birth of his son.

The decision comes after a disappointing performance in the first Test, where the Pakistani pace attack struggled to contain the Bangladesh batsmen.

The 12-member squad includes: Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel (vc), Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Abdullah Shafique, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shehzad

Shaheen, who has been working on regaining his form after a knee injury, has taken only 16 wickets in 10 innings since his return in July. Coach Jason Gillespie cited a need for Shaheen to focus on improving his bowling and spend time with his family, who welcomed a new baby recently.

The 12-member squad for the second Test includes spinner Abrar Ahmed and left-arm pacer Mir Hamza. The team management, reportedly unhappy with the pace attack’s performance in the first Test, is looking to revamp the bowling strategy.

The first Test saw Pakistan field four pacers – Shaheen, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali, and Naseem Shah – but the strategy backfired as Bangladesh dominated the match, winning by 10 wickets.

The team management is believed to be concerned about the pace bowlers’ inability to capitalize on the grassy pitch and their declining pace. While Naseem picked up three wickets, Shaheen, Shahzad, and Ali managed only two each, proving insufficient against Bangladesh’s strong batting lineup.