ISLAMABAD: For the first time in 24 years, the Australian cricket team, led by Captain Patrick James Cummins, arrived in Pakistan on Sunday night.
The last time Australia visited Pakistan was in November 1998.
During the tour, the Australian men will play three Test matches, the same number of ODIs, and one T20 match against the Green Shirts. Rawalpindi will host the first Test match of the series on March 4. After that, there will be Tests in Karachi and Lahore, followed by three ODIs and a single T20 in Rawalpindi.
After touching down in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, senior batsman Steve Smith shared a photo on Twitter of the 35-strong Australia tour group inside their charter flight’s cabin.
Since a deadly terror attack on a visiting Sri Lankan team’s bus in 2009, Pakistan has struggled to lure international teams. After a suicide bombing at a church in Lahore five years ago, Australia canceled a tour.
They last visited Pakistan in 1998, where they won the three-match Test series 1-0 and blanked the hosts in three one-day internationals.
Pakistan appeared to have satisfied international cricket authorities last year, with both New Zealand and England slated to tour. Pakistan had been obliged to play their home games abroad, largely in the United Arab Emirates.
However, the Black Caps abruptly left in September, only minutes before their first match, citing security concerns, and England’s men’s and women’s teams both postponed tours shortly after.
The decisions infuriated Pakistan cricket officials, who believed they had done everything necessary to secure the safety and security of their players.
Officials from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) greeted the players when they arrived at the Islamabad International Airport.
Schedule of tests:
Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi, Raw
Second Test, Karachi, March 12-16
Third Test, Lahore, March 21-25
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 comprise the Pakistan squad
Australia’s team
An 18-man Test squad has already been named by Cricket Australia.
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 are the players on the team.
‘Head of state-level security’
The squad will be given the title of “head of state-level security,” according to the report “Pakistan’s interior ministry spokeswoman said AFP.
“Such accommodations are exclusively made for high-level foreign delegations, as well as Pakistan’s president and prime minister.”
When the Australians undertake the 15-kilometer (11-mile) journey, roads will be closed and army helicopters will follow their team bus.
Snipers will be stationed on adjoining buildings, while nearby stores and offices have been instructed to close on match days, according to the interior ministry.
For matches in Karachi and Lahore, similar preparations would be made.
As Australia prepares to fly into Pakistan for the first time since 1998, Test captain Pat Cummins says his team is “comfortable” with security measures and “excited” about what lies ahead.
“We’ve arrived at a point where everyone boarding the plane feels at ease in their seats. The security and logistics teams have put in a lot of time and effort, and it’s paid off “Cummins explained.
Following Covid testing, the Australians will be confined to quarters for 24 hours before heavy training ahead of the first Test on March 4.
Despite the fact that more than half of Pakistan’s 220 million inhabitants were not even alive when Australia last toured (the median age is 22.8), stadiums are likely to be crowded as the country emerges largely unhurt from the Covid epidemic’s Omicron stage.
Tickets for the Pakistan-Australia Test Series are now available via the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) began selling tickets for the forthcoming Pakistan-Australia Test series online on February 25.
In a press statement issued earlier today, the PCB revealed the ticket sale times.
According to the PCB, cricket fans can purchase tickets online at https://pcb.bookme.pk/ or through their local M&P Courier locations.
Only two enclosure classifications are offered during the Rawalpindi Test.
The following are the ticket prices for the three-day series between Pakistan and Australia at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from March 4 to 8:
Imran Khan, Javed Akhtar, Javed Miandad, and Azhar Mahmood are among the VIP enclosures, which cost Rs500.
Premium enclosures are available for Rs100 and include Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir, Miran Bakhsh, and Yasir Arafat.
