Melbourne, 3 October 2024: Pakistan team will play the first ODI match against Australia today in Melbourne. Pakistan and Australia have announced their teams for the first ODI match, in the Pakistan team, Muhammad Rizwan (Captain) Salman Ali Agha (Vice-Captain), Abdullah Shafiq, Saeem Ayub, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Muhammad Hasnain. For Australia , Pat Cummins (Captain), Jack Fraser McGurk, Matthew Short, Steve Smith, Josh Inglis, Marence Lebouchen, Aaron Hardy, Glenn Maxwell, Sean Abbott, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa are in the Australian team.
Apart from Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, who last played an ODI match against New Zealand in January 2023, has returned in the Pakistani team.
The first one-day international between Pakistan and Australia will be played on November 4, the second one-day match on November 8 and the third one-day match on November 10.
After the tour of Australia, the Pakistani team will go to Zimbabwe where 3 ODIs are scheduled between the two teams from November 24 to 28, after which 3 T20 matches will be played from December 1 to December 5.
Pakistan has played 56 ODI matches on Australian soil so far, in which they have won 17 matches and lost 37. Pakistan has won only two matches in the last 19 years.
Pakistan has won two series in Australia so far. In 1996, under the leadership of Wasim Akram, Pakistan won, while in 2002, under the captaincy of Waqar Younis, Pakistan won two out of three matches and won the series.
It has always been difficult for Pakistan team to tour Australia, but the fact is that Pakistan team is not strong for ODI series because Pakistani players have no experience of playing on Australian bouncy pitches compared to the past.
Batting on fast and bouncy wickets in Australia is difficult for the Pakistan team. Australia always takes advantage of its home ground. In the tour of Pakistan, fast pitches are always made, on which the Pakistan batting line often fails.
The last time Pakistan played an ODI series was in 2017 when Pakistan won in Melbourne under the leadership of Muhammad Hafeez. There are also many matches when Pakistani batsmen performed brilliantly and took the match very close to victory. In Australia, four victories came on the tail of the bowlers. Most of the victories of the Pakistan team are in 90s.
The chances of winning for Pakistan in the current series are very slim , but if Pakistan team win even one match, it will be a big battle as Pakistan’s batting is struggling. The batting flaws against England were covered by the bowling but the weak opening has upset the balance of the team to a great extent.
There is no batsman in the middle order who can handle one end.
Pakistan will host champions trophy next year in February, march.
After the tour of Australia, the national team will go to Zimbabwe where 3 ODI matches are scheduled between the two teams from November 24 to 28, after which 3 T20 matches will be played from December 1 to December 5.
All three players have been rested for the tour of Zimbabwe. White ball captain Muhammad Rizwan is a part of the team for the tour of Australia , but he has been rested for the T20 matches against Zimbabwe. In between, 3 ODI matches are scheduled, after which 3 T20 matches will be played from December 1 to December 5.
The national selectors have given a chance to the players who have performed in the domestic rotation policy, while Aamir Jamal, Arafat Minhas, Faisal Akram, Haseebullah, Muhammad Irfan Khan Niazi have been included in the squad for the first time for both series.
Similarly, Jehandad Khan and Salman Ali Agha have been included in the T20 for the first time, while Kamran Ghulam, Umeer Bin Yousaf and Sufyan Muqim have also been given a chance.
Fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain, the man of the series with 17 wickets in the Champions ODI Cup, who last played an ODI against New Zealand in January 2023, has also returned to the team. Apart from Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi, 4 players have been included in both formats, including Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah and Mohammad Irfan Khan.
Likewise, Aamir Jamal. , Abdullah Shafiq, Faisal Akram, Kamran Ghulam Mohammad Hasnain and Saeem Ayub have been selected for ODI only
