ISLAMABAD: The Australian Test captain Pat Cummins, due to a back injury, will not play in the first Ashes Test against England.
Steve Smith will lead the side in the opening Test of the five-Test series, which is due to commence on November 21 in Perth.
Head coach Andrew McDonald has confirmed that Cummins is slated to start bowling again later this week and he is very hopeful about his return for the second Test in Brisbane.
Scott Boland has, therefore, become a most probable candidate for the Perth Test if the spot in the playing XI is considered in view of Cummins’ absence.
The injury to Cummins is a major blow to the Australian side as his leadership along with his pace bowling have been Australia’s greatest weapons in the Ashes series against England, the arch-rivals.
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No opening role! Babar Azam to bat one down in T20 return
The head coach of the national team Mike Hesson has confirmed that the star batsman of Pakistan Babar Azam is going to make a comeback to the T20I team. But it has been made clear that Babar will not be the opening batsman, and he will most probably come in at No. 3.
Babar’s return has already delivered a major boost to the T20 team of Pakistan just before the upcoming matches, however the changes in the batting order will be monitored very closely by the fans and the analysts as well.
Hesson, speaking at a press conference at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, declared Babar’s return in such a loud and clear manner that it was almost like Babar himself was coming back: “The T20 squad decision was to bring back Babar Azam. The third number is his batting position and I absolutely believe he will come back with a lot of energy and impact,” said Hesson.
While answering a question, Mike Hesson said that Mohammad Haris had been provided the opportunity to open the batting many times but he had not taken the chances properly. “Haris is a talented young player but he still requires support. In order to make our T20 series squad more potent and strong, we have included Usman Khan who is very good against spin to replace Haris,” said Hesson. Looking back at Pakistan’s loss to Asia Cup final, Hesson acknowledged that the defeat was bitter but rapped the team for a lack of improvement and getting better as the T20 game unfolds. “Players not in the current squad should concentrate on domestic cricket,” he opined.
Hesson also confirmed that Sufiyan Muqeem has been sent down to first-class cricket for skill enhancement, and while he was at it, he described Usman Tariq as a bright spin prospect. The coach further added that the South African series, along with the tri-series tournament, will be the right place to reveal the best line-ups for the T20 World Cup.”
