Pakistan batter Imam-ul-Haq and pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi have been dropped from the Sydney Test with opener Saim Ayub taking his place in the 11-men squad, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Tuesday.
This will be Ayub’s Test debut, as the Green Shirts will be up against Australia for the third Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) from January 3 to 7.
Ayub has, so far, played only eight Twenty20 matches for Pakistan.
Meanwhile, spinner Sajid Khan has been included in place of pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, who has been rested, in order to boost the spin-bowling department since the pitch is likely to assist the slower bowlers.
Shaheen has bowled 99.2 overs during the series, which is the most for both teams.
Pakistan playing XI
Shan Masood (captain), Saim Ayub (debut), Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Salman Ali Agha, Sajid Khan, Hassan Ali, Mir Hamza, Aamir Jamal.
