Cricket News

Pakistan name their playing XI for 1st test vs Australia, big name gets dropped

Two new faces in Pakistan's playing XI for the first test versus Australia in Perth starting on Thursday.

Dec 13, 2023 4:19 pm

Shan Masood and his Pakistan team are set to take on Australia in the first Test match in Perth starting on Thursday. Just a day before the game, the Men in Green announced the team that is set to play the first match.

Pakistan are yet to win a test series in Australia as they get ready for the three-match series. The Pakistanis are leading the table as far as the World Test Championship points are concerned.

Meanwhile, Australian opener David Warner is set to play his final test series. The 37-year-old had already announced his decision to call time on his test match career. The Australians have played 5 games in this cycle of World Test Championships and are currently 5^th in the table.

Big name player dropped for Perth Test Match –

Pakistan Team management has named the playing XI for the first test match in Perth starting on Thursday. Mohammad Rizwan has been dropped in favor of veteran wicket-keeper and batter Sarfaraz Ahmed. The move has come as a surprise considering the kind of Rizwan has been showing lately.

Abdullah Shafique and Imam Ul Haq are set to open the batting with skipper Shan Masood slotted at number three. Star batter Babar Azam will be batting at number four position. The former Pakistan skipper will be looking to score runs after a miserable outing in the last few months for his national side.

Saud Shakeel, Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Salman Agha will be batting in the middle order for the men in green. Interestingly all-rounder Faheem Ashraf has been named in the playing XI for the 1^st test. Shaheen Shah Afridi will lead the bowling attack which witnesses Hasan Ali being benched for the game.

There are two debutants for the Pakistani side in fast bowlers Aamir Jamal and Khurram Shahzad. There are no spinners named in the playing XI with Salman Agha likely to roll his arm over if there is a need for spin bowlers.

The Australians too have named their playing XI with Nathan Lyon coming back into the team. The veteran off-spinner had injured himself during the Ashes 2023 series and missed the final three games of the series. The 36-year-old just needs four wickets to become the 8^th bowler to complete 500 test wickets.

Pakistan XI for Perth Test –

Abdullah Shafique, Imam Ul Haq, Shan Masood (Captain), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Sarfaraz Ahmed (WK), Salman Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Aamir Jamal, and Khurram Shahzad