Pakistan consider Mohammad Amir and other team news as they play Australia in T20 tri-series

Waseem Ahmed 11:21 02/07/2018
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  • Another wicketless display for Amir.

    After beating hosts Zimbabwe convincingly by 74 runs in the T20I tri-series opener, Pakistan lock horns with Australia in Harare on Monday.

    Sarfraz Ahmed’s men are in scorching form currently in the T20 format and their win over the hosts on Sunday was their eighth on the bounce.

    With the game against Australia coming less than 24 hours after the win over Zimbabwe, a couple of changes could be on the cards for Pakistan as they seek to keep everyone fresh.

    The men in green opted to rest pace spearhead Mohammad Amir in the tri-series opener and he could be in contention to play on Monday against the formidable Aussies. As such, Sarfraz will have plenty of good selection headaches after the excellent showing of his bowlers in the 74-run win. The likes of Mohammad Nawaz, Usman Khan, Mohammad Hafeez and Hasan Ali picked up two wickets each in the comprehensive win with Shadab Khan chipping in with one.

    Amir has been managing a chronic knee injury for some time now.

    Amir has been managing a chronic knee injury for some time now.

    While the option to rest Amir further will be a tempting one for Sarfraz, his experience and leadership could be vital against Australia.

    In the batting department, Hussain Talat had a poor outing in the tournament opener and that continued a poor run for the young batsman in recent times after his struggles to get past good starts in the series against Scotland.

    His poor form could open the doors for fellow 22-year-old Sahibzada Farhan. Farhan impressed for Pakistan Super League (PSL) champions Islamabad United in the most recent edition and has impressed with his performances in the domestic circuit.  Also in contention for the role is the more experienced Haris Sohail.

    With no fresh injury concerns to worry about, expect Sarfraz to persist with the winning combination with the return of Amir being the most likely change.

    PAKISTAN LIKELY XI

    Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Hussain Talat, Sarfraz Ahmed (c and wk), Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir

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