Pakistan opt against fielding a specialist spinner in Perth Test
For the second time in as many tours to Australia, Pakistan have decided to line up in the opening Test with a relatively inexperienced bowling attack. Fast bowlers Aamer Jamal and Khurram Shahzad will both make their Test debuts, with Shaheen Shah Afridi leading the attack.
That rules out Hasan Ali or any expert twist bowling, with Noman Ali hanging out for hitter and parttime spinner Agha Salman. Crease bowling allrounder Faheem Ashraf will bat at eight, with Pakistan deciding on batting profundity over a pedigreed spinner.
There were moderately couple of amazements in the batting line-up, and keeping in mind that both Mohammad Hafeez and Shan Masood hyped up Mohammad Rizwan's overall commitment aside, Sarfaraz Ahmed is the wicketkeeper while Rizwan stays on the seat. It is perceived the choice of playing Rizwan as an expert player was momentarily thought of, however in Noman's nonappearance, Agha's parttime offspin gave him the edge.
Pakistan's arrangements were tossed into disorder when Abrar Ahmed, the best option spinner, was harmed in front of the Perth Test, and presently fights to be good for the excess two. Sajid Khan was flown in as crisis substitution, however he just showed up on Tuesday night, and a Thursday start was considered to be too early for him. With four remaining hand hitters in Australia's main seven, the offspinner was viewed as a preferred coordinate over left arm spinner Noman, and his absence of preparation has seen them ditch the possibility of an expert spinner out and out.
The pitch was under covers for a large portion of the day, yet had weighty patches of plant life on Tuesday, two days out from the Test. The pitch at this setting last year against West Indies, while appraised "great", was a lot blander than are regular in Perth, with the quick bowlers not exactly getting the help they have generally been familiar with. The Optus Arena keeper expressed a portion of the grass would be shaved off the pitch, yet Pakistan chief Masood said he anticipated that it should give huge help to quick bowlers.
While Pakistan have grappled with how to deal with their group blend, Australia reported their beginning XI three days out from the Test. They play three expert quick bowlers, spinner Nathan Lyon, and crease bowling allrounder Mitchell Bog.
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