Cricket Australia (CA) announced a 16-member squad for the white-ball leg of the series against Pakistan with a number of big stars left out. Team Australia will travel to Pakistan with a complete Test squad but several of their players will be rested for the three One-Day Internationals and one Twenty20 International game that follows.
According to the details, Test skipper Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchel Starc will be absent from Australia’s pace attack while the all-format opening batter, David Warner, and the hard-hitter Glenn Maxwell will not be in action in the batting department.
However, with only one T20 match on the tour, wicketkeeper Matthew Wade was unable to join the 16-man team that allowed England-born Josh Inglis to take his place while Alex Carey is set to perform his duty as a wicket-keeper batter in the ODIs.
According to Cricket Australia, the workload of some players who play all formats had to be managed due to a packed schedule. “We have picked a talented and versatile squad with a number of challenges to juggle,” said chair of selectors George Bailey.
Bailey also cited the need “to build experience and depth in preparation for two short-form World Cups within the next 18 months.” “We’re confident the squad can both compete successfully on this tour and continue our progress towards those crucial tournaments,” Bailey added.
Limited-overs players who are not participating in the Test series will join the squad in the middle of the tour, with the first ODI taking place on March 29 in Rawalpindi. Australia will be facing Pakistan in three One-Day Internationals on March 29, 31, and April 2, followed by a one-off T20I on April 5.
Here’s Australia’s squad for Pakistan tour:
| Aaron Finch (capt) | Sean Abbott | Ashton Agar | Jason Behrendorff |
| Nathan Ellis | Cameron Green | Travis Head | Josh Inglis |
| Marnus Labuschagne | Â Mitchell Marsh | Ben McDermott | Kane Richardson |
| Steve Smith | Marcus Stoinis | Adam Zampa | Alex Carey |
