AUS vs PAK: Shaheen Shah Afridi Rested, Imam-ul-Haq Dropped As Pakistan Announce Their Playing 11 for Sydney Test
Updated - 02 Jan 2024, 12:29 PM
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Pakistan, on Tuesday (January 2), announced their playing XI for the third and final Test against Australia. The match is scheduled to be played on January 3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The visitors have already conceded the three-match series after losing the first two games. Australia thrashed Pakistan by 360 runs in the first Test in Perth.
The tourists improved their performance in the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground but still ended up on the losing side. Chasing 317 runs, the Shan Masood-led side was all out for 237 runs to lose the game by 79 runs. The win saw Australia clinch the three-match series with a match remaining. The defeat also extended Pakistan’s disastrous Test record in Australia. They have now lost 16 Tests in a row in Australia and have not won a Test in the country since 1995.
Pakistan Playing XI For 3rd Test:
Pakistan will be desperate to avoid a defeat in the third Test and register their first Test win in Australia this century. And they have made two changes to their playing eleven that lost the second Test in Melbourne. Opener Imam-ul-Haq has made way for uncapped Saim Ayub who has played 8 T20Is for Pakistan so far.
Imam failed to do well in both the innings of the second Test. The left-handed batsman started the series on a good note by scoring 62 in the first innings of the first Test before failing thrice in a row. In the second innings of the first Test, he scored 10 before registering scores of 10 and 12 in Melbourne.
Left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi has been dropped from the playing eleven too. He picked up just two wickets in the first Test before taking 6 wickets in the second Test. He has been replaced by Sajid Khan.
? Our playing XI for the SCG Test ?#AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/xTJzOcgy2n
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) January 2, 2024
Pakistan’s Playing XI: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (C), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Salman Ali Agha, Sajid Khan, Hasan Ali, Mir Hamza, Aamir Jamal
