Australia's Test stars to miss white-ball leg of Pakistan tour
Cricket Australia (CA) on Tuesday named a 16-man squad for their upcoming white-ball tour of Pakistan, starting March 29. Australia have rested several high-profiled players for the upcoming series, including the pace trio of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. Opener David Warner has also been rested. All-rounder Glenn Maxwell has been given time off for his wedding and will skip the tour.
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In the absence of their three ace seamers, the likes of Kane Richardson, Sean Abbott, and Jason Behrendorff will have to up their ante to keep the pressure on the opposition. With Warner out of the series, Ben McDermott is expected to open the innings alongside his skipper Aaron Finch. He was also Finch's opening partner during the just-concluded series against Sri Lanka.
Australia's limited-overs squad
Squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wicket-keeper), Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
Australia national selector George Bailey on their squad
"We have picked a talented and versatile squad with a number of challenges to juggle, including the tour structure of the predominantly 50-overs game, management of multi-format players; and our need to build experience and depth in preparation for two upcoming short-form World Cups," Bailey said. "We're confident the squad can both compete successfully on this tour and continue our progress," he added.
Australia's last tour of Pakistan
Australia last traveled to Pakistan in 1998 for Test and ODI series. Australia had won the three-match Test series 1-0. They also won the ODI series 3-0. Australia men's cricket team is scheduled to play three Tests, as many ODIs, and a one-off T20I against Pakistan this time around, starting March 4. CA named its Test squad earlier this month.
A look at Australia's Test squad
Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (captain), David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith (vice-captain), Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wicket-keeper), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, Mitchell Swepson
Pakistan vs Australia: Schedule
Here's the complete schedule: 1st Test, Rawalpindi (March 4-8), 2nd Test, Karachi (March 12-16), 3rd Test, Lahore (March 21-25), 1st ODI, Rawalpindi (March 29), 2nd ODI, Rawalpindi (March 31), 3rd ODI, Rawalpindi (April 2), one-off T20I, Rawalpindi (April 5).
