Australia name an unchanged XI while Pakistan pick two debutants for second Test
Crucial toss goes Pakistan's way
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed has won a crucial toss and elected bat in the second Test against Australia in Abu Dhabi.
Australia captain Tim Paine confirmed an unchanged XI from the one that held on for a dramatic draw in Dubai, with left-arm spinner Jon Holland retaining his place despite a healthy covering of grass on the wicket.
Paine also revealed no change to the batting order, with Mitch Marsh to remain at No.4, followed by Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne.
Squad members Matthew Renshaw, Michael Neser and Brendon Doggett will fly back to Australia tonight to prepare for the JLT Sheffield Shield. Glenn Maxwell and Adam Zampa, who are part of the T20 squad, will act as sub fielders for the tourists.
Pakistan welcome two new faces into their XI, with limited-overs sensation Fakhar Zaman and paceman Mir Zama to debut in place of injured opener Imam ul-Haq and fast bowler Wahab Riaz.
Fakhar recently became the fastest man to 1000 ODI runs, breaking a record first set by Viv Richards, while he blasted a 46-ball 91 against Australia to lead Pakistan to victory in the Zimbabwe T20 tri-series final in July.
The 26-year-old Hamza hasn’t played for Pakistan in any format but has impressed during the opening month of the domestic first-class competition.
Wahab's axing comes after an at-times wayward bowling effort in the first Test in Dubai, going wicketless through 27 overs. It had been his first Test in 12 months.
On match eve, Paine was surprised by the presence of grass on the Abu Dhabi surface, suggesting uncapped fast bowlers Michael Neser or Brendan Doggett could be added to the side at the expense of Holland.
But on game day the decision was made to stick with the XI that managed the great escape in Dubai, having batting one ball short of 140 overs to see the match end in a stalemate.
A victory in the second Test would see Australia record their first win in Asia since 2011 when they beat Sri Lanka 1-0.
Australia XI: Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Mitch Marsh, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Tim Paine (c), Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon, Jon Holland
Pakistan XI: Mohammad Hafeez, Fakhar Zaman, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed, Yasir Shah, Bilal Asif, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas
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
Oct 7-11: First Test, drawn
Oct 16-20: Second Test, Abu Dhabi