Australian Team Arrives In Pakistan For The First Time In 24 Years

The Aussie men will take on Green Shirts in three Test matches, the same number of ODIs and one T20 during the tour

ISLAMABAD: The Australian cricket team led by skipper Patrick James Cummins reached Pakistan Sunday night for the first time in 24 years as they visited it earlier in November 1998.

The Aussie men will take on Green Shirts in three Test matches, the same number of ODIs and one T20 during the tour. The first match of the Test series will begin on March 4 in Rawalpindi. It will be followed by Tests in Karachi and Lahore before three ODIs and a single T20, all in Rawalpindi.

Senior batsman Steve Smith posted a picture on Twitter of the 35-strong Australia tour party inside their charter flight's cabin after it touched down in the Pakistan capital, Islamabad.

Pakistan has struggled to attract visiting sides since a fatal terror attack on the visiting Sri Lanka team's bus in 2009. Australia pulled out of a tour five years earlier after a suicide blast at a Lahore church.

They last played in Pakistan in 1998, winning the three-Test series 1-0 and blanking the hosts in the three one-day internationals.

Having been forced to play their home games abroad -- mostly in the United Arab Emirates -- Pakistan appeared to have reassured international cricket authorities last year with both New Zealand and England scheduled to tour.

But the Black Caps hastily departed in September just minutes before their first match was due to start, citing security fears, and England postponed tours by both their men's and women's teams soon after.

The decisions incensed Pakistan cricket authorities, who felt they had done everything possible to ensure safety and security.

Those who arrived in Pakistan today include Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith (vc), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Marsh, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc and others.

Pakistan Cricket board (PCB) officials welcomed the players upon arrival at the Islamabad International Airport.

Test schedule:

March 4-8 — First Test, Rawalpindi

March 12-16 — Second Test, Karachi

March 21-25 — Third Test, Lahore

Pakistan squad

Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, and Zahid Mahmood.

Australia squad

Cricket Australia has already announced an 18-member Test squad.

Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, and David Warner.