Not only is Sarfaraz Ahmed absent from the Pakistan Test and T20I squads bound for Australia, in a major shake-up, head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq has named a host of new faces in both the touring groups, reports Cricinfo.
Muhammad Musa Khan, the 19-year-old seamer, has been included in both the squads. Khushdil Shah, the 24-year-old middle-order batsman, and Abdul Qadir's son Usman Qadir, the 26-year-old legspinner, were the new faces in the T20I squad, to be captained by Babar Azam, while Azhar Ali's Test side included Kashif Bhatti, the domestic veteran who bowls left-arm spin and is the fifth-highest wicket-taker in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy this year, and Nasim Shah, the 16-year-old fast bowler, who was a surprise pick. He rose to prominence with a six-wicket haul on his Quaid-e-Azam Trophy debut last year, and has fast become something of a regular for Central Punjab.
The action in Australia begins with the first T20I on November 3 in Sydney, followed by games in Canberra (November 5) and Perth (November 8), before the Test matches take place in Brisbane (November 21-25) and Adelaide (November 29 to December 3).
Pakistan squads
T20Is: Babar Azam (capt), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Musa Khan, Shadab Khan, Usman Qadir, Wahab Riaz.
Tests: Azhar Ali (capt), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Musa Khan, Nasim Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah.