Boxing Day Test: Wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed makes way for Mohammad Rizwan as Pakistan on Monday announced a twelve players squad for the Boxing day Test against Australia from December 26-30. The Final XI will be announced on Tuesday.
Pacer Khurram Shahzad was ruled out of the series because of an injury Mir Hamza or Hasan Ali are likely to replace him, while Faheem Ashraf will also miss out the second Test.
Sajid Khan is also set to feature, with Noman Ali and Abrar Ahmed both injured. With Khurram Shahzad also injured, Mir Hamza or Hasan Ali are likely to replace him.
Pakistan captain Shan Masood suggested that they want to give Sarfaraz a break and said, as quoted by cricket.com.au:
“We think Rizwan is ready and we can give Sarfaraz a little bit of a break to recoup and come back. It was more of a tactical decision in terms of the conditions and getting the best out of each player in those conditions,” said Shan Masood to cricket.com.au.
In the first Test, Australia defeated Shan Masood’s team by a margin of 360 runs within four days. Australia have named an unchanged squad.
Pakistan 12-players squad: Imam-Ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Mir Hamza, Aamir Jamal, Sajid Khan.
Australia playing XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.