Sydney: Pakistan have announced their playing XI for the third and final Test of the bilateral series against Australia and the left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi has been rested for the fixture.
The Test match will kick off from January 3 and Saim Ayub will replace Imam-ul-Haq for the opening slot in the game. Also, 30-year-old Sajid Khan has been included in place of Afridi. Saim made his debut in T20 cricket as a result of some impressive performances in List A cricket. In the eight T20Is he has played so far, Saim has notched up 123 runs with an average of 17.57.
Sajid will be returning to red-ball cricket after a span of over a year and a quarter as he played his last Test against Australia in March 2022. He fell down in the pecking order for the national side as Abrar Ahmed and Noman Ali established their place in the side. However, injuries to both the players have paved the way for him to be back in the Test side. He has scalped 22 wickets from seven matches so far in the career and will be keen to add some more to his tally in the Sydney Test. Australia have already announced an unchanged lineup for the match with David Warner to play his farewell Test.
The final fixture of the series will be played in Sydney between 3 to 7 January. Australia have an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the series and they will aim for a clean sweep. On the other hand, Pakistan will try to register a consolation win in the match.
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