In a warm gesture, the Pakistan cricket team surprised their Australian counterparts with Christmas gifts at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MGC), ahead of the teams’ Test match on Boxing Day (December 26).
In a video posted by Australian sports journalist Daniel Cherny, the men in green presented gift baskets to the Aussie team and their families.
We spotted Pakistani Test captain Shaan Masood distributing the presents alongside the team’s staff. Australian captain Pat Cummins was visible in the background, holding a gift basket, while the squad’s children accepted colourful Christmas candy.
Babar Azam and some of the other players were also spotted spreading the holiday cheer.
“That was just great. Just Merry Christmas gifts and lollipops for the kids. So that was great. We’ve got a good relationship with the Pakistan side. That tour a couple of years ago was really special as well. So really kind and thoughtful of their group to think of us,” captain Pat Cummins told ESPN Australia.
The men in green are currently on tour of Australia for a Test series. Australia named an unchanged XI for the Boxing Day Test at the MCG as they look to seal the series against Pakistan, who dropped veteran wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed.
The hosts crushed Masood’s side by 360 runs inside four days at the first Test in Perth, with pace spearheads Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood all coming through unscathed.
Pakistan have been hit hard by injuries since Perth with fast bowler Khurram Shahzad and their two leading spinners, Abrar Ahmed and Noman Ali, all ruled out of the Melbourne match.—Agencies
