BRISBANE – Pakistan are all set to face Australia in the first match of a 5-match ODI series at the Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, on Friday.
The match will start at 8:20 am (PST), 03:20 am (GMT) and 01:20 pm (Local Time).
The tourists are facing back-to-back setbacks as Sarfraz Ahmed, the wicketkeeper-batsman and vice-captain, has flown back home after his mother was admitted to the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Karachi with a serious illness.
“Kamran Akmal is likely to replace Sarfraz, who will take the first available flight back home,” local media reported on Wednesday.
Earlier, left-arm quick Mohammad Irfan also flew back home following the demise of his mother in Pakistan.
Junaid Khan, who was named as a replacement for Irfan, is set to join the team today.
Mohammad Hafeez, who has returned to the Pakistan ODI set-up after his inclusion was requested by captain Azhar Ali and coach Mickey Arthur, also joined the team yesterday.
Pakistan, who were whitewashed in the three-match Test series against Australia, play their second ODI in Melbourne on January 15, followed by visits to Perth, Sydney and Adelaide on January 19, January 22 and January 26 for the remaining games.
Pakistan squad (Not final): Azhar Ali (c), Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Rizwan, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Irfan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Hafeez, Junaid Khan.
Australia Squad (Not final): Steven Smith (c), David Warner, Pat Cummins, James Faulkner, Travis Head, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Chris Lynn, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa.
