Pakistan Drop Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shoaib Malik For Upcoming Australia Tour

Pakistan have included uncapped teenage pacers Musa Khan and Naseem Shah in the Test squad for the upcoming tour of Australia.

Sacked skipper Sarfraz Ahmed and experienced campaigners Shoiab Malik and Mohammad Hafeez did not find a place in Pakistan's Twenty20 squad for their upcoming tour of Australia. Sarfraz, 32, who was axed from the Twenty20 international and Test captaincy, was replaced by 27-year-old Mohammad Rizwan. They have included uncapped teenage pacers Musa Khan and Naseem Shah in the Test squad which has undergone plenty of changes Shoiab Malik and Mohammed Hafeez not making the cut for the Twenty20 international squad gives a clear cut indication that Pakistan are looking towards the future with giving the young and budding talent a chance to prove their mantle. Hafeez was part of Pakistan’s Twenty20 squad in South Africa earlier this year but was not played The Test pace attack -- hampered by the untimely retirement of Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz earlier this year -- includes 16-year-old Nasim Shah and 19-year-old Musa Khan who have played just five and seven first-class matches respectively.

"Our Test batting is experienced, talented and pretty settled, so, we have not tweaked it much, except including prolific Abid Ali in place of Fakhar Zaman and adding Iftikhar Ahmed, who can also bowl off-spin. We have a strong batting line that we expect to perform in the two Tests," Misbah said.

Imran Khan senior, 32, returns to the Test squad after playing his last Test during the Australian tour in 2017. Prolific leg-spinner Yasir Shah will be assisted by 33-year-old left-arm spinner Kashif Bhatti in Tests. And leg-spinner Usman Qadir -- son of the late legendary leggie Abdul Qadir -- will be part of the Twenty20 squad, with Misbah citing his experience playing in Australia’s Big Bash Twenty20 league earlier this year. The lanky 37-year-old Mohammad Irfan, who played the last of his 20 Twenty20 internationals in the Twenty20 World Cup in India three years ago, is also part of the shorter format.

Test squad: Azhar Ali (captain), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed , Kashif Bhatti (33, Sindh), Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah

T20I squad: Babar Azam (captain) Asif Ali Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Shadab Khan, Usman Qadir, Wahab Riaz