PAK vs AUS: 'Khurram Shahzad Is Not Fit For Test Cricket..'- Former Pakistan Cricketer

Former Pakistan cricketer, Mudassar Nazar, has expressed his concerns regarding Khurram Shahzad’s fitness. He also talked about the uncertainty revolving around Faheem Ashraf’s role as an all-rounder in the Pakistan Test squad.

Nazar highlighted Khurram Shahzad’s performance in an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan. He stated that although the bowler was good with his skills, his fitness was not up to the mark, especially for Test cricket. He revealed that he bowled at 120 kph when he came onto the field on the second day.

“Khurram, although he did not bowl poorly, the next day when he came in the morning, he was bowling at a speed of 120 km per hour, and his body language was not right either. He seemed quite tired. So, one thing is that his fitness is not up to the standard required for a Test bowler,” Nazar said.

Mudassar Nazar also raised concerns about Khurram Shahzad’s adaptability to different pitch conditions. He emphasized that Khurram Shahzad excels when there’s grass on the pitch and the ball gets a bit of movement. “He [Khurram] will need conditions where there is some grass on the pitch,” he added.

Khurram Shahzad Is Ruled Out Of The Remaining Two Matches Of The Series

Khurram Shehzad felt some discomfort in his left rib during the Perth Test and scans have revealed a stress fracture and an abdominal muscle tear which has ruled him out of the remaining Test matches against Australia. Shifting his focus on Faheem Ashraf’s role as an all-rounder, the former Pakistan cricketer added that Ashraf’s role in the team is very uncertain.

“Another enigma is our all-rounder, Faheem Ashraf. I still haven’t figured out whether he plays as a batsman or as a bowler. This discussion has already taken place in the previous series that he is a batting all-rounder, focusing more on batting rather than bowling. Unfortunately, his bowling isn’t as effective, and the same happened in this match. Eventually, persistently giving him protection proved to be detrimental to the Pakistan team,” he concluded.

Australia registered a thumping victory against Pakistan in the first Test beating them by 360 runs. Pakistan and Australia will now be facing each other in Melbourne where the second Test is scheduled to take place. The match will commence on December 26 and Australia will look to end the series for Pakistan in the second Test itself.

Khurram Shahzad has been ruled out of the remainder of the series and Pakistan is likely to include Mir Hamza or Hasan Ali in the XI in place of Shahzad. Aamer Jamal was one of the positives for Pakistan in the first Test as he picked up six wickets in the first innings.

Pakistan was bundled for just 89 in the last innings while chasing a massive target of 450 runs. Nathan Lyon completed his 500 Test wickets in the last inning of the Perth Test and became the third Australian and overall eighth player to achieve this enormous feat. Pakistan and Australia will move to Sydney for the third Test which will be the last match for David Warner in red-ball cricket.