The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced a 16-member national squad for the 3-match T20 International series against Australia.
All matches of the series will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on January 29, 31, and February 1, starting at 4 pm (Pakistan time). Through this series, cricket fans will once again get the opportunity to watch high-quality international cricket on their home ground.
Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi have returned to the T20 squad, having missed the three-match series against Sri Lanka in January. Shadab Khan will also continue his comeback journey and will be part of a strong spin bowling unit, which includes Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, and Usman Tariq.
The national team and support staff will report to Lahore on Saturday, January 24, while formal preparations for the series will begin the next day. On the other hand, the Australian team will arrive in Pakistan on February 28, and this will be their second series in the T20 format on Pakistani soil, having previously played a single T20 match at the Gaddafi Stadium in April 2022.
The 16-member squad announced includes Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Muhammad Nafe (wicketkeeper), Muhammad Nawaz, Muhammad Salman Mirza, Muhammad Wasim Jr., Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper) and Usman Tariq.
The support staff includes Naveed Akram Cheema (Team Manager), Mike Hesson (Head Coach), Ashley Noffke (Bowling Coach), Shane McDermott (Fielding Coach), Hanif Malik (Batting Coach), Cliff Deacon (Physiotherapist), Grant Lowden (Strength and Conditioning Coach), Talha Ijaz (Performance Analyst), Syed Naeem Ahmed (Media Manager), Lt. Col. (Retd) Usman Anwari (Security Manager), Dr. Wajid Ali Rifai (Team Doctor), Dr. Raheel Karim (Psychiatrist) and Muhammad Ehsan (Malaysia).
The schedule of the series is that the first T20 will be played on Thursday, January 29, the second on Saturday, January 31, and the third match on Sunday, February 1 at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore, while all three matches will start at 4:00 pm.
