Khurram Shahzad, who made his Test debut for Pakistan in the Perth Test against Australia last week, has been ruled out of the remainder of the series due to injury. Here’s weighing the options Pakistan have to replace the speedster for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
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Shahzad impressed in his debut Testin Perth, getting Steve Smith out twice and registering overall match figures of 4-120 in a game where his team were comprehensively beaten. However, a rib fracture has now ruled him out of the remainder of the series, adding to Pakistan’s growing list of injury concerns.
Naseem Shah, their young spearhead, did not travel to Australia as he wasn’t fit enough, while Abrar Ahmed, their lead Test spinner, missed out on the first Test as well. Now with Shahzad out for the rest of the series, here’s a look at the options Pakistan have to replace him for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
Hasan Ali
The maverick right-arm seamer is one of the most experienced international bowlers Pakistan have in their squad. However, he has not had a lot of game time in the longest format of late. His last Test match came in January this year while his last Test outside of Asia, the Caribbean, and Zimbabwe, came in January 2019.
Ali hasn’t yet played a Test in Australia and understandably so. His short height and skiddy nature make him ideal for bowling in the dry conditions in the subcontinent, but not so much on the true surfaces of Australia.
Mohammad Wasim Jnr
Wasim has only played two Test matches and didn’t feature in this year’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (Pakistan’s premier first-class tournament) either. He does, however, have international experience, having represented Pakistan 49 times across formats.
Wasim’s round arm action and his ability to get the ball to reverse are again qualities that are ideal for subcontinental conditions. However, unlike Hasan Ali, Wasim Jnr has the advantage of being taller, standing at six feet two inches, and might be able to extract a bit more from the generally placid MCG surface than the senior pro.
Mir Hamza
The 31-year-old quick made his Test debut against Australia in 2018 in Abu Dhabi but has played only three games so far. He is, however, in red-hot red-ball form. In the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy this year, Hamza picked 32 wickets from eight games at an average of 20.87, just behind Shahzad who picked four wickets more, and provides two points of differences: height (six feet two inches), and left-arm angle.
Abrar Ahmed/Noman Ali/Sajid Khan
Pakistan didn’t opt for a specialist spinner in Perth, something that they are almost certain to rectify in Melbourne. Abrar is the first-choice spinner but there is uncertainty on his availability. Left-arm spinner Noman Ali is the next in line and might make the XI in place of Shahzad.
However, if Shahzad was available, Faheem Ashraf might have had to sit out to accommodate a spinner. Shahzad’s injury might pace the way for Ashraf keeping his spot as the third seamer, although that seems unlikely given his lacklustre outing in Perth.
