Imam, Abbas wait in line as Haris, Imran face axe

More than the openers being the problem, this is about Haris Sohail. A promising career has been shaken up by the identical manner of his dismissals in Brisbane - nicking off, away from his body - and his experiences generally in Australia, where he has clearly struggled with the bounce. Iftikhar Ahmed also did not contribute in the opening Test and it has pushed the team management to ponder shaking up that middle order. Iftikhar is likely to retain his place, mainly due to Misbah ul Haq's belief in him as a multi-faceted player.

Happily for Pakistan, that would mean letting the captain Azhar Ali come in at one down. Azhar's form over the last two years has not been great - he is averaging less than 28 since the retirements of Misbah and Younis Khan. His continuing struggles in Brisbane mean Pakistan won't mind giving him some more time - theoretically - before he comes out to bat, while also allowing two specialist openers at the top.

Imam is in contention, probably more so than Abid Ali. Despite a low average, he has played more Tests than any other Pakistan opener since the start of 2018, and duly has more runs than any other.

It doesn't present a compelling case but his experience is likely to win out over Abid. It means also a shuffling of the rest of the order, with Babar Azam likely moving to four and Asad Shafiq back down to his favoured number six. Shafiq made 76 in Brisbane, though the second-innings duck would've riled his supporters. At six, Shafiq has scored the major chunk of his runs, at an average of 41.81, including nine of his 11 hundreds.

Little surprise if this happens, as expected. Imran Khan just didn't make the kind of impact Pakistan had wanted in Brisbane and it could cost him his place in the side. The decision to play Imran Khan ahead of Mohammad Abbas drew plenty of surprise and criticism but Pakistan went with Imran based on his form with the pink ball in the warm-up game against Australia A. He began poorly, allowing Australia to get away to a flyer, and though he became tighter later on, it was a poor game for him. Pakistan may not be convinced still that Abbas is at his best, but with a pink ball, in day-night conditions, it is a fairly straightforward decision.

The management is unsure whether or not to hand Naseem a second Test straight away. Pakistan bowled 157.4 overs with the 16-year-old Naseem bowling 20, all of them at high pace. Imran was meant to be the workhorse who allowed Naseem time and space in the attack, but his failure meant Shaheen Shah Afridi and Yasir Shah sharing that role with 34 and 48.4 overs respectively.

Pakistan are keen to manage Naseem's workload - he only bowled three overs on the third day. If they do rest him, that will allow another of their teenage fast bowlers to debut, in the shape of the 19-year old Musa Khan. He is not quite as quick or precocious but has still been one of the finds of the last season in Pakistan.