With the goal of making history,Pakistan squad fly to Australia for Test series early on Thursday for their three-match Test series against the Kangaroos in Australia. The team, which consists of 17 members of the management team and 18 players, will first go to Dubai before continuing on to Sydney. The team will leave Sydney and head to Canberra to play a practice match against the Prime Minister’s XI of Australia, which is slated to begin on December 6.
Pakistan squad fly to Australia for Test series
Simon Grant Helmot, the high-performance coach, and Adam Hollioake, the recently hired batting coach, will join the team in Australia instead of traveling with the team. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) reports that the team will begin training in Canberra on Sunday at 10 a.m. local time.
“Our Test team is settled and the World Test Championship has already started on that note,” said Shan. He hinted that the team would stick with the opening pair of Abdullah Shafique and Imam Ul Haq and he would bat at number 3.
“Babar Azam is the best batter in the side and you build your team around your best batter so his position will not be tinkered with. Similar to Saim, Khurram Shehzad and Mir Hamza have been awarded for their domestic performances. As for Haris Rauf, you can request for a player but the discretion lies with the player and if they are unavailable, you have to make peace with it,” said Masood.
The first Test match between the Pakistani cricket team and Australia will take place in Perth from December 14 to 18, and then there will be a second Test match in Melbourne on December 26. The last match of the tour will take place in Sydney on January 3, 2024.
A day prior, Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood gave assurances to the media that batsman Babar Azam’s status in the starting XI would not be altered and that the team will develop around him. Masood claimed that a “due process” was followed in selecting the team for the Australia Test tour, and that having everyone in agreement made his work easier.
