Follow UsAfter an injury to Abrar Ahmed, Pakistan have opted against fielding a specialist spinner, with only left-arm spinner Noman Ali available for selection. Instead, the Asian side have handed debuts to pacers Aamer Jamal and Khurram Shahzad, both of whom played in the warm-up clash against Prime Minister’s XI.
Pakistan have also quashed all the reports suggesting that Hasan Ali could be in the frame for a place in the starting XI, with Agha Salman’s all-round abilities taking precedence over the pacer’s presence in the setup.
On the expected lines, Imam-ul-Haq will continue to be the opener of the Test setup alongside Abdullah Shafique. While Mohammad Rizwan had a good ODI World Cup, it hasn’t translated into a place for him in the Test XI, with veteran Sarfaraz Ahmed keeping his place in the setup.
ESPNCricinfo reported that Pakistan wanted to play a spinner, but the presence of four left-handers in the Australian setup took away Noman's chances. Pakistan have opted to go with the all-round prowess of Faheem Ashraf, who becomes the fourth pacer in the setup, with Agha Salman and Imam-ul-Haq being the two-spin bowling options.
Pakistan XI for first Test against Australia: Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (capt), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Agha Salman, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheeh Shah Afridi, Aamer Jamal, Khurram Shahzad