Captaincy Vacant as Australia Opts to Rest Star Players for Pakistan T20I Series

The upcoming five-match Test series against India is set to kick off just four days after the third T20I on November 22 in Perth. As a result, key players such as Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, Cameron Green, Marsh, and Head will be missing from the T20I squad as they prepare for the longer format of the game.

The senior players in the squad, who could potentially captain them in the three-match series, are Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa, Josh Inglis and Matt Short. Fast bowling all-rounder Aaron Hardie, meanwhile, had also captained in the Big Bash League but he has only made 10 T20I appearances thus far, in addition to playing eight ODI matches.

Meanwhile, Pakistan announced a full-strength squad with wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan as their new white-ball captain. Assistant coach Azhar Mahmood had stated before the start of their second Test against England that they had rested the likes of Babar Azam and pacers Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah to ensure that they were fresh for their upcoming white-ball tour of Australia. All three players are available for the ODIs and T20Is.

The first ODI will be played in Melbourne on November 4, after which the second ODI will be hosted in Adelaide on November 8. The third match will be played in Perth on November 10. The T20I series then begins in Brisbane on November 14, followed by the second T20I in Sydney on November 16. The tour ends with the third T20I in Hobart on November 18.