Pakistan announce squad for Australia tests; Mohammad Amir dropped
Pakistan have announced their 17-man squad for the Test matches against Australia in UAE. The two-match Test series is scheduled to commence on 7 October 2018 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
However, Pakistani speedster Mohammad Amir has been excluded from the 17-man squad, which has raised a few eyebrows. Despite Amir's failure in the recent ODI matches, he had performed well in England.
Mohammad Amir has picked up 12 wickets in Test cricket in 2018, at an average of 18.42 and a strike rate of 47.25. He had also performed well in Pakistan's Test series against England in England.
The players who have succeeded to book their place in Pakistan's squad against Australia are mentioned below:
Azhar Ali
Fakhar Zaman
Imam Ul Haq
Babar Azam
Asad Shafiq
Haris Sohail
Usman Salahuddin
Sarfraz Ahmed (c & wk)
Yasir Shah
Shadab Khan
Bilal Asif
Muhammad Abbas
Hassan Ali
Wahab Riaz
Faheem Ashraf
Mir Hamza
Muhammad Rizwan (wk)
The Pakistani squad seems to be a perfect blend of freshness and experience, as the experienced players have been included alongside some fresh talents.
Pakistan are a strong Test side when they play at their home and their players have the capacity to beat a weakened Aussie Test side, who are hurt by the absence of David Warner and Steven Smith.
Pakistan also has a strong bowling attack, with Mohammad Abbas leading the pace bowling unit and Yasir Shah leading the spin-bowling unit.
On the other hand, Australia have already announced their Test squad that will play. Senior players like Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, etc. will have a lot to prove in those conditions.
Besides, the role of Aaron Finch and Usman Khwaja would also be vital if the Aussies want to get back to comfortable ways. The members of the Australian Test squad should take the absence of Smith and Warner as an opportunity to show the whole world that they are still strong enough to compete.