After 24 years, Pakistan and Australia are playing the first Test match of the PakvsAus series today (March 4) in Rawalpindi. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat. Team Australia arrived in Pakistan on Sunday (February 27) for their first tour since 1998 and will play three Tests, three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and a T20I.
“The pitch looks nice so we’ll try to put runs on the board,” said Pakistan skipper Babar Azam. He also predicted that our spinners would play a key role in the first match of the three-Test series.
Babar Azam and Pat Cummins are leading their sides in the first Test of the three-match Benaud-Qadir ICC World Test Championship series match at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) CEO Faisal Hasnain said in a press conference today (Friday) that Pakistani cricket fans have waited 24 years for this moment. He expressed gratitude to the Australian Cricket Team for their tour to Pakistan.
Naseem Shah has been included in the squad for the first Test against Australia after bowler Haris Rauf tested positive for Covid-19.
Test squads for Rawalpindi match
Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (c), Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah
Australia: Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
Test schedule:
- 1st Test, Rawalpindi: March 4-8
- 2nd Test, Karachi: March 12-16
- 3rd Test, Lahore: March 21-25