Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam and the Men in Green are on the Australian shores for a three-match Test series as they resume their charge in the World Test Championship 2023-25. The Pakistan team are currently taking on Australia's Prime Minister XI in a four-day warmup game and the first day of the match saw an intriguing incident.
In the practice game, Pakistan opted to bat first and after the loss of two wickets, Babar Azam and Shan Masood joined hands with each other in a bid to stitch a partnership for a big target. A humorous incident occurred when Babar Azam tried stopping a straight drive from Shan Masood on Beau Webster's delivery. The ball was a little away from the star batter and he could not grab it. Australia's cricket.com.au shared the video on social media. "Babar Azam keeping himself in the game at the non-striker's end....#PMXIvPAK," it wrote to a GIF on X.
Watch the Video:
Babar was later dismissed at 40 when his team was at 168/2 to Jordan Buckingham. Meanwhile, new Test captain Shan Masood struck a century.
Pakistan cricket has recently seen a sea of changes after World Cup 2023. Following the World Cup, Babar stepped down from the captaincy of all three formats. Pakistan appointed Shan Masood as their new Test captain, while the T20I reins went to Shaheen Afridi. The Men in Green have not named Babar's successor in the ODI format.
Pakistan have also appointed a new chief selector Wahab Riaz, while there is an overhaul in the coaching staff too. Head coach Grant Bradburn, team director Mickey Arthur, batting and bowling coaches Andrew Puttick and Morne Morkel have all been replaced.
Ex-captain Mohammad Hafeez is the new team director, while he is also the head coach for the Australia and New Zealand series. Former fast bowler Umar Gul and spinner Saeed Ajmal are in the new support staff.
