The Pakistan Cricket Board named on Monday the 12-person squad for the second Test against Australia. Rizwan replaces Sarfaraz in 12-man second Test squad. Mohammad Rizwan will play wicketkeeper instead of Sarfaraz Ahmed. The Boxing Day Test will start at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Tuesday, December 26. It will last for five days.
Rizwan replaces Sarfaraz in 12-man second Test squad
They did say, though, that the starting XI would be named tomorrow. During a press meeting, Test captain Shan Masood said that Sarfaraz did a great job of coming back after four years.
“However, Rizwan’s record was looking very good in this condition and considering that, he was selected for the playing XI,” said the leader.
The 34-year-old captain said that the word “dropping” doesn’t fit Sarfaraz because he has been given some time off. “Sarfaraz will get a chance to play where the conditions are favourable for him,” he said.
Masood told the Green Shirts that they need to get better at hitting the ball. He also said that the players would need to play a little faster since the game is 100 overs long. The leader also said, “Test cricket is hard for fast bowlers.” At the same time, Australia didn’t change their team for the Boxing Day Test.
12-men squad
Shan Masood (c), Shaheen Shah Afridi (vc), Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Muhammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Hasan Ali, Mir Hamza, Aamir Jamal, Sajid Khan
Australia XI
David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
