Pakistan Drop Mohammad Abbas, Shan Masood For South Africa Tests

Pakistan Cricket Team has dropped fast bowler Mohammad Abbas and batsmen Shan Masood, and Harris Sohail for the upcoming Test series against South Africa. The selectors have included as many as nine debutants after their recent 2-0 drubbing at the hands of New Zealand.

Babar Azam will take over as captain from Mohammad Rizwan and skipper Pakistan’s red-ball team for the first time in Karachi after a thumb fracture put him out of contention in New Zealand. He will look to hit the strides right from the start as Pakistan look to come back stronger from their defeat.

Hasan Ali returns to the Pakistan squad

Meanwhile, the 26-year-old fast bowler Hasan Ali, who enjoyed a dream first-class season, finishing with 43 wickets at 20.06 as well as slamming a thrilling century in the first-ever tied final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy has made a return to the squad. Hasan appears to have rediscovered his bowling zip following a spate of back-related injuries which reduced his efficacy, eventually costing him his central contract.

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“Haris Sohail, Mohammad Abbas, and Shan Masood have been dropped due to inconsistent performances. However, the PCB will not let its investment on these talented players go to waste and will invite them to the High-Performance Centre so that they can work out their technical flaws and get back into contention,” said chief selector Mohammad Wasim.

Meanwhile, the first of the two-Test series begins on January 26 at the National Stadium in Karachi. The second Test at Rawalpindi will be followed by a three-match T20I series. Pakistan will hope to conduct the series smoothly to invite more international teams to play cricket in the country.

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