In a heartwarming gesture, the Pakistan cricket team pleasantly surprised their Australian counterparts with Christmas gifts at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) ahead of their Boxing Day Test match on December 26.
A video shared by Australian sports journalist Daniel Cherny captured the men in green presenting gift baskets to the Aussie team and their families.
Test captain Shaan Masood led the gift-giving alongside the team’s staff, while Australian captain Pat Cummins was seen in the background holding a gift basket. The team’s children gleefully accepted colorful Christmas treats.
Babar Azam and several other players were also observed joining in to spread the holiday cheer.
Expressing his gratitude, Captain Pat Cummins shared with ESPN Australia, “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 kind and thoughtful of their group to think of us.”
The men in green are presently on tour in Australia for a Test series. Australia maintains an unchanged XI for the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, aiming to secure the series against Pakistan, who decided to exclude veteran wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed.
Following their defeat by 360 runs in the first Test in Perth, Masood’s side faced setbacks with injuries, ruling out fast bowler Khurram Shahzad, as well as their two key spinners, Abrar Ahmed and Noman Ali, for the Melbourne match.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
