PAK vs AUS: Why Was Sarfaraz Ahmed Dropped From Pakistan Playing 11 vs Australia For Boxing Day Test? Shan Masood Reveals

Pakistan skipper Shan Masood revealed the reason behind replacing Sarfaraz Ahmed with Mohammad Rizwan for the second Test match. Shan Masood described the move as a tactical decision, considering the conditions of the upcoming match against Australia.

Pakistan has announced a 12-member squad for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. The team management has excluded three players from the previous Test playing XI. Sarfaraz Ahmed and Faheem Ashraf have been dropped, while Khurram Shahzad has been ruled out of the series.

Off-spinner Sajid Khan, along with fast bowlers Mir Hamza and Hasan Ali, has been included in the squad. Sajid Khan is expected to play as the specialist spinner, while either Mir Hamza or Hasan Ali may replace Khurram Shahzad in the playing XI of the second Test.

Shan Masood Reveals Why Pakistan Dropped Sarfaraz Ahmed

Shan Masood emphasized that Mohammad Rizwan replaced Sarfaraz Ahmed for the second Test, allowing for a brief break for the former skipper. Masood mentioned that the decision was influenced by a strategic assessment of each player’s potential contributions.

“We think Rizwan is ready and we can give Sarfaraz Ahmed a little bit of a break to recoup and come back. It’s more of a tactical decision in terms of the conditions and what we can get out of each player,” Masood said.

Sarfaraz Ahmed was chosen over Mohammad Rizwan for the first Test match. Unfortunately, he failed to capitalize on the opportunity, only managing seven runs across the two innings. Sarfaraz Ahmed was dismissed on both occasions by the Australian pacer Mitchell Starc.

We Don’t Want To Force People To Play A Certain Way – Shan Masood

Shan Masood acknowledged the challenging conditions in Perth and stressed the team’s focus on improvement without forcing a specific playing style. The Pakistan captain highlighted a more outlined approach to their desired style of cricket for the next match.

“It was hard out there in Perth. But I still feel there were some positives that probably we didn’t do back when we were here in 2019. We don’t want to force people to play a certain way. But we’ve sort of outlined certain things that we want to do better,” Masood further added.

Pakistan endured a 360-run defeat in the series opener against Australia. The Pakistan openers displayed some resistance in the first innings, but they conceded a substantial 216-run lead to the opposition. In the second innings, they were bowled out for a mere 89 runs.

On Monday, Australia announced an unchanged XI for the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Scott Boland and Cameron Green will remain on the bench for the second match of the series. The home team aims to secure the series against Pakistan.

Australia XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (capt), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

Pakistan XII: Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (capt), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Agha Salman, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali, Mir Hamza, Aamer Jamal, Sajid Khan

Also read: PAK vs AUS: “Shan Masood Is Made Pakistan’s Captain Because Of His English..”- Former Pakistan Cricketer