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Pakistan cricket team skipper Shan Masood along with star batter Babar Azam and other members of the support staff visited the Australian cricketers at their indoor practice session with Christmas gifts on Monday. The Pakistan cricketers had gifts for the cricketers and lollipops for the children present at the Melbourne Cricket Ground facility. The Australian cricketers were extremely happy with the heartwarming gesture and skipper Pat Cummins could not stop praising the effort. A cute moment was when Usman Khawaja‘s baby daughter hugged Babar and the video of the moment has gone viral on social media.
Australia named an unchanged XI for the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as they look to seal the series against Pakistan, who dropped veteran wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed.
The hosts crushed Shan Masood’s side by 360 runs inside four days at the first Test in Perth, with pace spearheads Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood all coming through unscathed.
It means Scott Boland, who took 6-7 on debut at the MCG against England in 2021, misses out.
“We’re a huge fan of Scotty, I don’t think that’s a secret,” skipper Cummins told reporters on a wet Christmas Day.
“He’s ready to go if anything happens, so I’m sure he’ll play a part at some point.
Warm wishes and heartfelt gifts for the Australian players and their families at the MCG indoor netspic.twitter.com/u43mJEpBTR
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) December 25, 2023
“The message (to Boland) is always ‘we love what you bring, unfortunately, you miss out on this one but don’t change, keep working hard and make sure you stay ready’.”
Showers and potential thunderstorms are expected for the first day of play but are forecast to clear by Wednesday afternoon and Cummins said he was confident of a result.
“I think there will be plenty of time to finish the game. I don’t think (the weather) will change anything,” he said.
“(The wicket) looks pretty good. Fair bit of grass, probably a little bit harder and not as green as last year.”
Pakistan have been hit hard by injuries since Perth with fast bowler Khurram Shahzad and their two leading spinners, Abrar Ahmed and Noman Ali, all ruled out of the Melbourne match.
They named a 12-man squad with Sarfaraz Ahmed and speedster Faheem Ashraf axed.
Mohammad Nawaz will take the gloves, with Mir Hamza and Hasan Ali in contention for Shahzad’s place in the attack alongside veteran Shaheen Shah Afridi and impressive newcomer Aamer Jamal.
With Ahmed and Ali sidelined, Sajid Khan is their only spin option.
(With AFP inputs)
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