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The first Test between Australia and Pakistan will begin on November 21 at the Gabba in Brisbane.
Joe Burns will open the innings for the home side along with David Warner. But, fast bowler Michael Neser and wicket-keeper batsman Cameron Bancroft will not feature in the playing XI for the Gabba Test.
Pakistan, on the other hand, have drawn a series in Australia, but have never won one and the last tasted a Test victory at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in 1995.
A handful of players, including new skipper Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, and the in-form Asad Shafiq, were part of their Australia last tour in 2016/17 when they crashed 3-0, but are better for it, said then-captain and now head coach Misbah-ul-Haq on Wednesday.
“Our previous record in Australia won’t put us under pressure,” Misbah said. “If anything, it’ll be an opportunity and motivation to win because whatever we couldn’t achieve in the past, we can do now.
“It’s a young and hungry team and it means business,” he added.
“This team wants to take the challenge. We want to give our best, play good cricket and think about winning.”
Stats
- Pakistan have lost each of their last 12 Test matches in Australia.
- Steve Smith needs only 27 runs to complete 7,000 runs in Test cricket and if he reaches the milestone in his next six innings, he will be the fastest batsman.
Probable XIs
Australia: David Warner, Joe Burns, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Matthew Wade, Tim Paine (c & wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon.
Pakistan: Azhar Ali (c), Shan Masood, Haris Sohail, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Abbas, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Imran Khan/Mohammad Musa/Yasir Shah, Naseem Shah.
Match Timings
12 AM GMT; 10 AM local; 5:30 AM IST
Broadcast Details
TV:
Sony Six, Sony Six HD – India
PTV Sports, TEN Sports – Pakistan
Fox Sports, Seven Network – Australia
Live Streaming: Sony LIV
