PAK vs AUS: Mitchell Swepson to debut as Australia announce XI for Karachi Test

Australia leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson is set to make his Test debut against Pakistan as skipper Pat Cummins has confirmed his inclusion in the second fixture of the three-match series. Swepson will be Nathan Lyon’s deputy in the spin column, while pacer Josh Hazlewood will sit out, Cummins informed on the eve of the Test.

Swepson, who was roped into Australia’s red-ball squad for the first time in 2017 during the tour of India, is capped at the international level only in T20Is, while he has constantly been on the sidelines in the Test team. His 51-match first-class career has reaped him 154 wickets at 34.45 with four five-wicket hauls.

The Queenslander had come close to making his debut in Sydney against New Zealand in January 2020 when he was named in Australia’s XII, but he failed to make the cut. In a team not known chiefly for its spinners, Swepson’s will be the first debut of a frontline leg-spinner in Australia’s men’s Test team since Bryce McGain in 2009.

“He’s pumped and to be honest, we’re all pumped for ‘Swepo’,” Cummins told reporters in a virtual presser in Karachi, the venue of the second encounter. “It’s been a long time running drinks over the last couple of years, but he’s absolutely ready.”

“He’s been a huge part of the squad, even though he hasn’t been playing. So we’re really excited to see him get a chance. The wicket here is a little bit drier and historically a bit friendlier for the spinners.”

Meanwhile, the first Test in Rawalpindi ended in a drab draw on a track that had nothing to offer the bowlers. A total of 1187 runs for the loss of 14 wickets were scored in the game, leading the ICC match referee Ranjan Madugalle to rate the pitch as “below average”.

Australia XI for second Pakistan Test

David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Swepson