Kamran Ghulam, the Pakistani all-rounder, recently expressed his disappointment for being failed given his first cap before the first match ODI against Australia that took place in Melbourne a few days ago. The century-maker in his Test debut last month, Ghulam, took to the field for the first match of the series at the MCG where Pakistan however lost. When he made his Test debut against England in the previous month, Ghulam had only played one international match before replacing Babar Azam in the squad, who was dropped due to bad form.
For the unversed, Ghulam made his ODI on 13 January 2023 against New Zealand in Karachi as a concussion substitute. However in that match, he did not get an opportunity to either bat or bowl since he was a concussion substitute for Haris Sohail in the second innings only.
In another video of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Ghulam narrated the event that took place before the 1st ODI in Melbourne where he was having a lark with fellow allrounder Aamer Jamal. He also remembered the talk where the captain asked him if he had fever and since he was fit enough to play, he said he would not get a cap at the MCG as he had already played ODIs last year.
“Who was not looking forward to it? I was waiting to get my first ODI cap. But, Rizwan told me that ‘you have already made your debut so what cap are you getting’. Now the reason is simple that it was a concussion debut but I did not bat or bowl. Haris Sohail was concussed but he came out to bat after that. I went on to field for 50 overs,” the lady said in the video.
Meanwhile Rizwan won the toss while Pakistan chose to bowl in the second ODI which was played in Adelaide.
Pakistan retained the same squad as pacer Naseem Shah has been cleared of injury concerns after leaving the field during the first match due to what looked like a cramp.
Changing only one player, Australia had the experienced Josh Hazlewood come back for Sean Abbott to reunite with the fast-bowling contingent of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc.
In the absence of Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head, Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matt Short are again entrusted with opening the batting but will be eager to impress having exited for low scores in the first match.