Shocking! Pakistan drops Abdullah Shafique as they announce XI for the Boxing-day Test against SA

Pakistan has announced the playing XI for the first Test against South Africa. The Boxing Day Test between the teams will begin on 26th December at the Supersport Park in Centurion and will be part of the ICC World Test Championship as well. 

Pakistan has made a bold call related to their playing XI for the first Test against South Africa. The Shan Masood-led side has dropped solid opener Abdullah Shafique for the first game, especially after he failed in the ODI series. The batter bagged three ducks in three games. 

With Abdullah Shafique not playing, Pakistan will be opening with skipper Shan Masood. It will no doubt be a massive Test for the batter, as opening the innings in South Africa isn't an easy task. He will be there at the top along with Saim Ayub, who slammed two centuries in ODIs. 

Babar Azam will be batting at No.3 and will be making his comeback into the team after being dropped from the England Tests. It will be a great opportunity for him to reclaim his place in the team and prove his prowess with the bat in the two-match series. 

Kamran Ghulam, who slammed a debut on a century, also has made the cut into the team for the Test against South Africa. Vice-captain Saud Shakeel and keeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan will be handling the middle order duties along with Salman Agha, who will be spin bowling all-rounder. 

The pace department for Pakistan is pretty solid, as Aamer Jamal will be the seam-bowling all-rounder. Khurram Shahzad, Naseem Shah and Mohammad Abbas will be the three Frontline pacers in the team for the first Test against South Africa. 

Pakistan playing XI for the first Test against South Africa 

Here's the Pakistan playing XI for the first Test against South Africa: 

Shan Masood (c), Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel (vc), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas.

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