MELBOURNE: The 17-member Pakistan squad partook in the full-fledged training session here at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) ahead of their must-win Boxing Day Test against Australia.
According to the details, all members of the Pakistan squad except for the injured pacer Khurram Shahzad engaged in a lengthy practice session.
The national players participated in several fielding drills and carried out robust batting and bowling sessions.
Some of the members of the Pakistan squad also interacted with the fans on the sidelines of the training session, signed autographs and took selfies with them.
Prepping for the second game of the series 🏏#AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/Sp2zwlcvDB
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) December 21, 2023
The Greenshirts will then play a two-day practice match against Victoria XI on December 22 and 23.
After the game against Victoria XI, the Pakistan team will take a day to rest before resuming their training at the MCG on December 25.
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Meanwhile, the Australia team will report to Melbourne on December 23 and partake in the training session for two days before kicking off the Boxing Day Test on December 26.
Australia also made a tweak to their squad for the second Test match against Pakistan as right-arm pacer Lance Morris has been omitted from Australia’s squad.
His omission was the only tweak made by the Australian selectors, trimming the 14-player squad they had in Perth to 13 for Melbourne.
Notably, Australia’s first-choice pacers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood did well in the first Test against Pakistan as they troubled the visitors’ batting unit, which led them to a thumping 360-run victory.
Their impressive performance in the Perth Test also indicates the possibility that skipper Cummins will opt for the same Playing XI for the second Test.
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.
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.
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