New Delhi (India), : With their sights firmly set on the ICC Champions Trophy next year, Pakistan are preparing to start their ODI series against Australia under the leadership of new captain Mohammad Rizwan. Following his recent appointment as white-ball skipper, Rizwan expressed his determination to discover the right team combination ahead of the tournament, which is boosted by a series of ODI matches ahead.

“We are scheduled to play a large number of ODIs before next year’s ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan,” Rizwan said in a statement issued by PCB, according to ICC.

“The upcoming series, starting with Australia, then Zimbabwe, South Africa and the home tri-nation tournament, will help us put together the right combination for the mega event,” he added.

As the reigning champions, who had triumphed in the last edition of the tournament in 2017 by beating India in the final, Pakistan are looking to build on their previous achievements. The team is currently undergoing a reset to refine their line-up ahead of the prestigious event. In an exciting announcement, Pakistan have unveiled their squad for the first ODI, featuring debutants Muhammad Irfan Khan and Saim Ayub.

Meanwhile, defending Men’s Cricket World Cup champions Australia have also named their players XI for the series opener. They introduce a new opening pair of Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk, both vying for the position alongside Travis Head in the Champions Trophy. Australian skipper Pat Cummins has encouraged his openers to embrace an aggressive style, giving them the freedom to play their natural game reminiscent of T20 cricket.

“It was both quite scary for them in the T20 and one-dayers, so that’s our message to them,” he said ahead of the ODI, according to ICC.

“My preference would be that they definitely give it a good crack,” he added.

Australia XI for first ODI: Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Steve Smith, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Aaron Hardie, Glenn Maxwell, Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa

Pakistan XI for the first ODI: Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Kamran Ghulam, Salman Ali Agha, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain.

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