LAHORE: Pakistan and Australia cricket boards have mutually agreed to shift white-ball matches from Rawalpindi to Lahore on the dates as announced previously.
The decision was made today, Saturday morning following discussions between the two boards. This means the headquarters of Pakistan cricket will host the 29 March, 31 March and 2 April One-Day Internationals as well as the one-off Twenty20 International on 5 April at the back of the third Test, which commences on 21 March.
The 50-over matches will start at 1500 local time, while the first ball in the 20-over
The match will be bowled at 2030 local time. Australia’s white-ball players, as originally planned, will arrive in Lahore on 24 March and after one-day room isolation, will integrate with other members of their side.
Pakistan’s white-ball players are scheduled to assemble on 22 March and will resume training on 25 March. Now that there is clarity on the venue of the white-ball matches, the PCB will shortly
announce ticket details, which will be available for purchase at https://pcb.bookme.pk/.
The ODIs are part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League. Top seven-placed sides from this event plus ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 hosts India will qualify
directly for the pinnacle 50-over competition, which will be staged next year in October/November. Australia are presently seventh and Pakistan ninth in the 13-team event, but a lot of
50-over cricket still needs to be played.
Squads:
Australia (ODI & T20I) – Aaron Finch (captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff,
Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne,
Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa.
Pakistan (ODI) – Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Asif Afridi,
Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-Ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr,
Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir.
Pakistan (T20I) – Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Afridi, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman,
Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani
and Usman Qadir.