New skipper Shan Masood has revealed the two quicks that are almost certain to feature for Pakistan in next week’s first Test against Australia, but says the make-up of the rest of his bowling line-up won’t be determined until he sees the conditions in Perth.
Pakistan’s bowlers are currently getting some much-needed practice ahead of their first of three ICC World Test Championship matches in Australia, with Masood’s side in the middle of a four-day tour match against a Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra.
Seven bowlers have already been utilised with the ball during that clash – including former skipper Babar Azam – while star quicks Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali have been rested for the contest prior to the first Test that commences in Perth on Thursday.
Masood all but guaranteed Shaheen and Hasan would return for the opening match of the crucial series, but who partners the senior duo in the absence of the injured Naseem Shah remains to be seen.
Left-armer Mir Hamza, all-rounder Faheem Ashraf and uncapped quick Khurram Shahzad have all bowled well at times in Canberra and are seemingly in the mix to play, while Abrar Ahmed appears likely to get the nod as the sole spin bowling option.
While Masood admitted he had some idea what his first-choice bowling line-up looked like, he said he would wait until he arrived in Perth before finalizing his XI.
“We’ll only be able to decide when we get closer to the game, see the pitch, see the conditions, see where the guys are at with their fitness and their loads,” Masood said.
“You have to look at the opposition as well, match-ups, or type of bowling, is huge in cricket now.
“Obviously Shaheen and Hasan are senior bowlers, they are probably pencilled in, but you want to look at everyone and give them a fair run before you make that ultimate decision.
“The permutations on the structure if the side matters as well – do we go with an all-rounder, what will the role of the spinner be?
“So there are a lot of things we are looking at and we are very glad we are playing a fixture like this.”
Masood expects the inexperienced 25-year-old Abrar, who was the joint leader in wickets taken during Pakistan’s Test series against Sri Lanka earlier this year, to assume a crucial role in Australia.
“Spinners are crucial and we’ve seen that with the Australian team, how good Nathan Lyon has been for a number of years,” Masood said.
“A spinner plays an important role, he’s very complimentary to the fast bowlers in these conditions.
“Abrar has done really well for us, he’s taken a lot of wickets against good sides and we’ll be hoping he does the same on this tour.”
With an undefeated record in their first two Tests of the new cycle, Pakistan are at the summit of the World Test Championship standings. They will be eager to maintain that lead when they face the reigning champions in three three-match series away from home.
Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi.
