Injury set to give Pakistan a new spin

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed has warned his ace leg-spinner Yasir Shah will attack a new-look Australian side when they meet in the first of two Test matches starting in Dubai from Sunday.

But Pakistan look set to be without Yasir's leg-spinning partner Shadab Khan, who is expected to miss at least the first Test due to injury.

Australia face a trial by spin as has so often been the case on their tours to Asia.

In the space of six years, they have lost 12 of their 15 Tests with only two wins and one draw on tours of India (twice), one each to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and United Arab Emirates.

They lost 2-0 to Pakistan in UAE in 2014, with Yasir taking 12 and left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar 14 wickets. But Yasir will now be the lone experienced bowler after Babar faded last year and Sarfraz says he wants him to aggressively hunt for wickets.

"When we played Australia in 2014 we played some attacking cricket," said Sarfraz. "Yasir is our main bowler so we will want him to attack and get us wickets to win the series.

"But similarly, we will not put extra pressure on him and will not want him to go in a defensive mode, so other bowlers will have to support him."

But Shadab, Pakistan's second leg-spinner, is unlikely to feature in Dubai having not fully recovered from a groin injury, according to a ESPN report.

Sarfraz will instead be able to call on 33-year-old off-spinner Bilal Asif, who played three one-day internationals in 2015 but has yet to play a Test, and potentially recalled allrounder Mohammad Hafeez, who will turn his arm over as a back-up off-spinner if selected.

Hafeez's action was cleared as legal in May this year and could prove dangerous for Australia's left-handers.

Sarfraz admitted Pakistan's batsmen will also face challenge against Australia's veteran spinner Nathan Lyon, who took 8-103 in the drawn tour game in Dubai earlier this week.

"We attacked him four years ago and at that time we had great batsmen in Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq," said Sarfraz of the 2014 series when Lyon got only three wickets in two Tests.

"Four years on he is a better bowler, so he will be their main bowler and a challenge for us."

Australian captain Tim Paine admitted Yasir will pose a challenge for his team.

"Yasir is clearly a world-class bowler who's got a phenomenal record at this ground in Dubai," he said. "We're going to have to take everything we've been working on.

"We've faced a hell of a lot spin, there's no doubt about that and Australian touring sides always do."

Pakistan did not include any frontline spinners in Australia's warm-up game last week, allowing Mitchell Marsh to score a brilliant 162 while Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh and Travis Head all posted half-centuries to tune up for the Test.

Qantas Tour of the UAE

Australia Test squad: Tim Paine (c), Ashton Agar, Brendan Doggett, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc

Pakistan Test squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Shadab Khan, Bilal Asif, Mohammad Abbas, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Hafeez

Tour match v Pak A:Match drawn

Oct 7-11: First Test, Dubai

Oct 16-20: Second Test, Abu Dhabi