Ex-Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali criticised Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel and Abdullah Shafique's batting against England in the first Test in Multan. He said, "[They] batted as if it was...very difficult pitch like what we get in Australia and England...They didn't play according to the pitch." Babar scored 30 runs, while Shakeel and Abdullah made 82 runs and 102 runs respectively.