Abrar's absence means Pakistan will be without a specialist spinner for only the second time in a home Test - including their UAE Tests - since September 1995. The only other time they played an all-pace attack was also at Rawalpindi, in December 2019, in what was their first Test in Pakistan in 10 years. That was part of a strategic shift under the new leadership of Azhar Ali, who, with Yasir Shah's form dipping drastically, wanted to rely more on pace. It didn't last long as Yasir returned and, in subsequent seasons, pitches were prepared to assist spin.