– Big changes coming in batting order, fielding set-up
Likely XI (In batting order): Sami Aslam, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Usman Salahuddin/Harris Sohail, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Mohammad Amir, Yasir Shah, Hassan Ali, Mohammad Abbas
The Pakistan Cricket team is likely to go into tomorrow’s test match against Sri Lank with only one spinner, according to inside sources. This will mean at least three to four pacers are likely to play.
With his fitness issues sorted out, Yasir Shah will likely be the spinner to be featured. The fresh Muhammad Asghar is likely to be on standby for now until a more spinner friendly pitch crops up than that being expected tomorrow at the Sheikh Zayd stadium in Abu Dhabi.
With Pakistan not having played a test match since 13 May, judging forms will be a tough task for coach and captain alike without any recent match performance to gauge from. Pakistan is thus likely to go for the tried and tested. This means that other than Yasir, tomorrow’s playing XI will consist of at least of Mohammad Amir, Hassan Ali, Muhammad Abbas.
While the team may be able to find some familiar ground in its bowling line-up, unfamiliar territory cannot be helped when in comes to the batting. With Azhar Ali fit and likely to take up his old number three spot in the batting order, neither one of the two specialist openers can are expendable and Sami Aslam and Shan Masood are almost certainly bound to start Pakistan’s innings’.
The two openers have had a less than ideal run together, consistency being the main problem, but with Misbah and Younis out of the picture, Azhar will be a vital fixture in the middle order given he is now Pakistan’s senior most test batsmen. This will, however, cause problems as there is no clear way of defining what posts Asad Shafiq and Babar Azam will be taking,
Babar is expected to move down from three to make room for Azhar, but he does not seem comfortable out of the number three or four spots if his ODI career is anything to go by. Asad, who has been a workhorse for Pakistan test cricket in recent years, might be looking for a promotion up to at least four from his earlier sixth place in the line-up. However, when he was last experimented up the order at number three, while Azhar filled the opener gap, it had not been a fruitful experience and Babar Azam had been given the responsibility.
The problem lies in the fact that there are no clear replacements for Misbah and Younis. While the number of batsmen are complete, the shake up in the batting order makes tomorrow’s game even more of a new experience. Moreover, Usman Salahuddin or Harris Sohail, whoever gets the call to pad up tomorrow, will be expected to adjust in whichever slot Asad and Babar leave after their respective settlements.
Of Usman and Harris, it seems that this one will be completely on the Captain’s call. Sarfaraz could risk it with the younger, less experienced yet multi-talented Usman in a bid to glue together a long term set-up. He could also go for the safer option of using Harris, who has experience and can bowl a decent left arm orthodox. Whichever is chosen, it will say much about what sort of a captain he will shape up to be.
Another aspect which may to some seem a minor matter of aesthetics but could be detrimental are the changes Pakistan will see in its fielding set up. With Younis gone from the slips and Misbah from his leg-side – cover spots within the circle, Sarfaraz will have some serious thinking to do from behind the stumps. Will Babar or Azhar stand at slip? If Azhar goes who comes into silly point? Cricket fans will have to wait and see.
