The all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz was named as the replacement for the pacer Noman Ali for the remaining Test matches in Pakistan’s tour of Australia 2023.
Replacement for Noman in AUS-PAK test series
With the player Noman Ali being ruled out of the rest of the test matches in the Pakistan tour, PCB has announced Mohammad Nawaz as the replacement of the player.
Noman Ali was not in the playing 11 of the first test at Perth last week and complained of severe abdominal pain yesterday which required scans and was diagnosed with acute appendicitis.
The medical team suggested surgery and he underwent surgery on December 23. Pakistan suffered a defeat in the first test against Australia by 360 runs difference.
The 37-year-old player has played 15 test matches so far and picked 47 wickets with a bowling return of 7/70 and an economy of 2.94.
Recently Khurram Shahzad was ruled out of the remaining test matches of the Pakistan tour of Australia. He sustained a rib stress fracture and abdominal muscle tear on the first test at Perth.
He had reported his soreness while bowling on debut in the first Test in Perth and later he went for scans which revealed the fracture of the tenth left rib. He won’t be able to feature in either Melbourne or Sydney.
Khurran was impressive during the first test where he removed Steven Smith twice and claimed three wickets for 45 runs during the second innings. He dismissed batters like David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne.
His absence could be problematic for the Pakistan bowling unit. His injury Naseem Shah was ruled out of the tour with a long-term injury, while legspinner Abrar Ahmed missed the first test due to a niggle in his right leg.
According to the head coach Mohammad Hafeez the replacement for Noman Ali, for Abrar sustained an injury. Sajid Khan flew as cover but arrived late for the first test in Australia and is expected to take his place in the second Test.
In terms of a like-for-like replacement for Shahzad, Pakistan has Hasan Ali and Mohammad Wasim Jnr in the squad. Pakistan will play a two-day game against the Victorian Xl side at the Junction Oval on December 22.
On the other hand, Haris Rauf decided to play in Australia’s Big Bash League 2023 instead of joining the squad for Pakistan’s tour of Australia.
Pakistan has not won a test match in Australia since 1995 and has lost 15 tests in Australia. Australia and Pakistan will be facing each other in the second test of Pakistan’s Australia tour in 2023 starting on December 26 at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
