Australia name full-strength squad for Pakistan tour in 24 years

Canberra: Australia on Tuesday named a full-strength squad for its first Pakistan tour in almost a quarter-century, with spinners Mitchell Swepson and Ashton Agar drafted to back up their formidable pace attack.  

Cricket Australia (CA) have confirmed that their men’s team will travel to Pakistan to play a full-fledged series in the form of three Tests, three One Day Internationals (ODI) and a solitary T20I, starting March 4, 2022.  

As per official notification, Andrew McDonald has been appointed interim coach. 

Rawalpindi will host the first Test, while the second Test will take place in Karachi. The Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore will be the venue for the third and final Test. 

Notably, the upcoming tour will be a huge boost for Pakistan Cricket, after a recent few events when New Zealand and England abandoned their tours—citing security concerns.  

Pakistan has struggled to entice foreign sides back after home internationals were suspended following a deadly terror attack on the Sri Lanka Test side in 2009. Hence, the country was forced to play their home international matches abroad—mostly in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“I would like to thank the PCB and both Pakistan, and Australian Governments for ensuring the tour will proceed for the first time in 24 years,” said CA chief executive Nick Hockley. 

He further added, “This is a historic occasion and important for the global growth and health of the game. I would also like to thank the Australian Cricketers’ Association and the players, coaches, support teams, staff and security experts for their collaboration in the planning for the tour”. 

“We are looking forward to an exciting series between two world-class teams,” Nick added.

With Australia confirming their Pakistan tour in 24 years, the general public and cricket fans in the country are thrilled, but there is still a tinge of “we’ve seen this before” kind of sentiment as well, with many believing that they will eventually back out—considering what happened with New Zealand opting to cancel the tour at the last moment in 2021.

Australia squad

Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.