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Australia will be travelling to Pakistan for a three-match series followed by as many ODIs. Both the sides are also poised to play a one-off T20I match. The Test series is slated to begin on March 3 at Karachi's National Stadium. The second and third Test matches will be played in Rawalpindi and Lahore respectively. The three ODIs and the sole T20I game will be played in Lahore.
Amid all this, Australian Test skipper Pat Cummins is confident of having a near full-strength team on Pakistan tour.
"I think we'll get close to a full-strength squad. There is still a little bit of work to do. We have received a lot of information and it has been great. All the pre-tour security and biosecurity work has been done and it's been fantastic. There are a couple of players still keen to get a bit more information but everyone is really pumped and feeling relatively comfortable. If anyone doesn't make the tour it is absolutely okay, we will back them for sure," Cummins said in a media interaction.
Cricket Australia (CA) has reportedly been in talks with the Pakistan Cricket Board over a prospective change in the schedule in the wake of Covid-19 scre. Australia's tour of Pakistan will start with the first Test on 3rd March.
"I don't even know what the wickets are going to look like over there," Cummins added.
The 28-year-old has had a great start to his captaincy career with an Ashes series triumph already under his belt. He will face a different taks in the form of a subcontinent tour early on in 2022.
Speaking of the possible squad for the Pakistan tour, Cummins said: "I thought about it yesterday for the first time and thought that will be a tough decision. They usually have a way of working themselves out. We'll have a squad of 15 who did really well in the Ashes. Crystal ball, I have no idea. I don't even know what the wickets are going to look like over there".
The management have a happy headache over their heads with robust depth in the fast bowling department that has been fuelled by the return of Josh Hazlewood from injury. The ploy to play two spinners could also be a possibility, considering the faith the team has shown in Mitchell Swepson in the recent past.
Australia's players are scheduled to leave the country in a little over three weeks, ahead of the first Test in Karachi from March 3. Matches will follow in Rawalpindi and Lahore provided CA approves of the current schedule.
The tour will mark Australia's first overseas Test since the 2019 and is one three subcontinent tour which form their away series in the current World Test Championship. They are due to tour Sri Lanka in the middle of the year and then India in early 2023.
Earlier, Australia speedster Josh Hazlewood had said that he would not be surprised if some of the players from his side don't want to tour Pakistan for security concerns.
"There's a lot of things in place and there's been a lot of work in the background by CA and the ACA. So the trust is quite high there from the players, but there'd certainly be some concerns from the players and I wouldn't be surprised if some of them don't make the tour," Hazlewood had said.
