'Wahab becomes weapon No. 1 in Australia'
Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur speaks about the selection decisions facing the team ahead of the Hamilton Test, and looks ahead to the tour of Australia

With the captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, unavailable for the Hamilton Test, Arthur will have some important decisions to make • AFP
You lose a massive amount. You don't only lose a player that averages in the high forties and gets runs at No. 5 for you. When you lose your leader, it becomes really tough. But you have to put a positive spin on it. It's a real opportunity for one of the other young players to step up. In terms of leadership we will have it covered within the team, but Misbah's been an unbelievable captain for Pakistan for such a long time that to replace him is very, very difficult.
We've got two options. Mohammad Rizwan can slot into the middle order - he's travelled around with us for a long time. He's trained with us. He went through the England series. We sent him back to play some domestic cricket and he responded by getting 167 and a 95. That's one option. Or we can have a look at Sharjeel Khan. If we use Sharjeel at the top of the order, that makes quite a few changes.
That becomes an issue because Azhar might have to go back down to three, and Babar Azam - our young gun, who I think is going to play for Pakistan for a long time and do really well - slides down to six, and Asad Shafiq might have to go back up. It's a lot of disruptions to our batting order. We've just got to have a look at the pitch and decide what we think is the best combination.
I think so. His defence is good - and I've told him this - but for him to become a Test batsman, we just need to keep working on the defensive side of his game. He's got a very good attacking side.
To a point. I think Sami's done really well. He's showed a real maturity. Azhar's done exceptionally well whenever he's had a go at the top of the order - he's a quality player. The dilemma for us in the last Test was whether Asad Shafiq stayed at three or we moved Babar in at three. One of them was going to bat three and one was going to bat six. We went to Asad at six because that was the sort of stable batting order for a long period of time. I think Babar has the capability to bat No. 3. That's where he bats for his local team and in one-day cricket. There is no problem with Babar. Technically he's all good.
The dilemma we had in the last Test - and this could go a long way to stopping all the questions I'm getting from Pakistan - was that we preferred Rahat Ali in the Test because of the pitch conditions. We wanted seam bowlers and swingers of the ball, rather than a guy who can bowl really quick. We thought that's what the wicket determined, and were proved right in that regard.
It's more likely that the ball's going to reverse-swing here. The pitch was green today, which we don't really mind, because we do have an attack that can really exploit that. Wahab is an option for us.
Yes, because Wahab, in Australia - particularly at the Gabba - becomes weapon No. 1, given his pace and ability to get reverse swing. He is a phenomenal bowler, because he provides us both options. We've just got to use him when the conditions are right. Then he becomes our trump card.
He's been very good since he's come back. He's had a lot of dropped catches - particularly in England. But he's bowling well and he's getting better. Every time I see him bowl, I see pace coming back and I see confidence coming back. He's starting to swing the ball again. He's got his confidence to bowl his bouncer. I'm hoping he hits his stride soon and gets rewards for all the work he's put in.
Yes, that confidence is there because he's now being judged just as a cricketer again. He's a wonderful bowler and a wonderful feller - he's really a good bloke. His work ethic is second to none.
Yeah he is, because he swings the ball at good pace. But again, our bowlers know that there's no comfort zone for anybody. They know that at any given time, we've got another four bowlers that can do the job. So it's great. There's a nice little bit of internal competition going on, though they are a tight unit.
It's a massive thing for Pakistan. To get to No. 1 after our England series was amazing - they haven't played at home for so long. The players have spoken about their desire to get that No. 1 tag back and the motivation is as big as it's ever been. But we're under no illusions. It's going to be tough. New Zealand played unbelievably well in the last match and were really disciplined. They are a tough team and we'll have to play very well to beat them.
We just want to keep getting better and better outside subcontinent conditions. We're going to be challenged down here with the short ball and the pace of the wicket. I know, because I've coached against subcontinent teams when I was with South Africa and Australia. When a subcontinent team arrives, you're going to bounce them. You're going to come hard at them for all the times that you got nailed by spin in the subcontinent. That's what's going to happen to us. We've got to be up for that challenge. We've got to work on our play against the short ball - we've got to work out how to score and defend off it. But our players can do that because they are quality players. I'm trying not to make a massive issue of it, because they're all good enough.
Andrew Fidel Fernando is ESPNcricinfo's Sri Lanka correspondent. @andrewffernando