Pakistan have announced their playing XI for the first Test of the three-Test series against Australia. For the Perth Test, Pakistan have named two debutants Aamer Jamal and Khurram Shahzad in the side. On the other hand, Mohammad Rizwan failed to find a place in the middle-order as Sarfaraz Ahmed is the first choice for the wicketkeeper-batter role.
Jamal and Shahzad played in the four-day warm-up match against Prime Ministers XI at Manuka Oval, Canberra. While Khurram managed to take opener Cameron Bancroft's wicket by trapping him in front of the stumps, Jamal remained wicketless after bowling 21 overs.
On the eve of the first Test, captain Shan Masood stressed on the importance of adapting to the conditions to do well in the Test series.
"As a team, we talked about adaptability. Whether we play in Canberra, whether we play in Karachi, whether we play in Perth, how quickly guys can adapt to different conditions is more important for me. Good cricketers are always adaptable. They adapt very quickly to conditions. And it'll be the same because when we talk about these three venues – Perth, the MCG and the SCG, all offer something different, and the challenge for our guys would be to adapt as quickly as possible," Masood told the reporters.
Masood who had earlier said that the Pakistan team is here to win and not just participate. He further said that winning a Test series will win the world for them as their last Test win on Australian soil came in 1995.
"It would mean the world to us. When you talk about the bigger picture, there's the World Test Championship. So every test match, every single point counts. It's a two year cycle, so we've got a lot of other test matches to play as well. So Australia is the perfect place to start perfect place to gauge where we are as a team," Masood added.
Pakistan XI for first Test:
Shan Masood (captain), Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Aamir Jamal, Khurram Shahzad.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
Rinku Singh's massive six off South Africa captain Aiden Markram breaks commentary box's glass, watch video
IND vs SA 2nd T20I: South Africa batters smash their way to 5-wicket win in rain-interrupted encounter as Rinku-Surya's fifties went in vain
