Having stunned Australia in the ODI series recently, Pakistan will chase a rare double as the Mohammad Rizwan-led side face-off in a three-match T20I series, starting on Friday (November 14). Pakistan have never won a T20I on Australian soil against Australia. Provided the Men in Green win the series, they will become the first-ever Pakistan side to win both ODI and T20I series in this part of the world.
Pakistan, who registered their first bilateral ODI series win over Australia after 22 years, will be missing the services of Mohammad Hasnain in T20Is while the trio of Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf remain with the side from the 50-over squad.
Interestingly, a lot of new faces have been named in the Pakistan squad for the T20I series. Unfortunately, Saim Ayub, who starred with 82 and 42 in Pakistan's ODI wins in Adelaide and Perth respectively, has not been named in the squad.
Babar Azam and Rizwan continue to be Pakistan's batting mainstay in the squad. On the other hand, the hosts will be missing Travis Head and regular captain Mitchell Marsh, who have been named in the Test squad for Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India.
Cooper Connolly will be unavailable for selection after the youngster broke his hand in Perth while Glenn Maxwell returns to the side after taking a break from the T20I leg of the United Kingdom tour.
The weather in Brisbane had delayed the start of the Australia vs Pakistan first T20I at the Gabba. The match was scheduled to start at 1:30 PM IST but its been more then 40 minutes that the square has been under covers. Dark clouds have covered the entire Brisbane sky with occasional lightings.
Pakistan have a slight 12-11 edge over Australia in T20I head-to-head. One game ended in no result and match ended in a tie. In Australia, Pakistan played four T20Is, losing three.
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (C), Usman Khan, Babar Azam, Salman Ali Agha, Arafat Minhas, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Jahandad Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Haris Rauf
Australia: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Matthew Short, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis (C), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Xavier Bartlett, Adam Zampa, Nathan Ellis, Spencer Johnson
The Australia vs Pakistan first T20I match will be played at the Gabba in Brisbane on November 14. The AUS vs PAK match was about to start on 1:30 PM IST/1 PM PST/6 PM local time.
Star Sports are the official broadcasters of Pakistan's tour of Australia. The Australia vs Pakistan 1st T20I will be live telecast on Star Sports channels in India.
Live streaming of Australia vs Pakistan first T20I will be available on Disney+ Hotstar.
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