An 18-member Pakistan cricket team has departed for Australia from Lahore to play a tough three-match Test series starting on December 18. The team will travel to Australian city of Sydney via Dubai. The Pakistani team will play a four-day match against the Prime Minister’s XI from December 6 before the start of the Test series against Australia. The first Test of the national team will start from December 14 in Perth. The second test match will be played in Melbourne from December 26, while the third Test will be played in Sydney from January 03. The Pakistani team is led by Shan Masood, who has played 30 Tests and has been entrusted with the responsibility of captaincy for the first time. With Pakistan facing a group-stage elimination from the 2023 World Cup, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made wholesale changes to their coaching staff with captain. Babar Azam stepped down voluntarily as the Pakistan skipper across all formats, while Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal have been roped in as fast-bowling and spin-bowling coaches ahead of the tour Down Under.

 Pakistan's newly-appointed Test skipper Shan Masood spoke in a press conference prior to his departure, stating that they are a settled unit. Underlining Babar Azam's importance in the line-up, Masood claimed: "Our Test team has been a settled unit. The opening combination of Imam ul Haq and Abdullah Shafique has been representing Pakistan for more than a year now. They have given a lot of performances. After the retirement of Azhar Ali, I have mostly played at number three spot in domestic and international cricket. This is the top three in our plans. Babar Azam is our best batsman. No one would disturb his batting position, which is number four spot. You make your team around the team’s best batsman."

Test Squad Shan Masood (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi.

 Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)