Training for the Boxing Day Test against Australia has begun for the Pakistani squad. A complete training session was conducted by the 17-member Pakistani squad today at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in front of their crucial Boxing Day Test match against Australia.
All of the Pakistani team, with the exception of injured pacer Khurram Shahzad, participated in a protracted training session, according to the information.
The national players engaged in intense batting and bowling workouts in addition to many fielding drills.
On the sidelines of the training session, a few Pakistani team members engaged with the crowd, signing autographs and posing for photographs.
The Greenshirts and Victoria XI will then square off in a two-day practice match on December 22 and 23.
The Pakistani team will get a day off following their match against Victoria XI before returning to training at the MCG on December 25.
Prior to the commencement of the Boxing Day Test on December 26, the Australian team will arrive in Melbourne on December 23 and train there for two days.
Right-arm bowler Lance Morris has been left off of Australia’s squad for the second Test match against Pakistan, another change made to the team’s lineup.
The Australian selectors reduced the 14-player roster they had in Perth to 13 for Melbourne by leaving out him. That was the only change they made.
Notably, Australia’s first-choice pacers, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins, performed effectively against Pakistan in the first Test match, troubling the visiting team’s batting lineup and helping Australia to a decisive 360-run victory.
Their strong showing in the Perth Test raises the probability that captain Cummins will select the same starting eleven for the subsequent Test.
Pakistan Test squad
Shan Masood (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafiq, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Nauman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Sajid Khan.
Australia Test squad
Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, David Warner.
