Pakistan begin a three-match T20I series against Australia in Lahore on Thursday, with their participation in next month’s T20 World Cup still unclear. PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi is due to announce a final decision on Pakistan’s involvement in the tournament on either Friday or Monday.
The uncertainty follows Pakistan’s protest against the International Cricket Council’s recent decision to reject Bangladesh’s request to move their matches out of India due to security concerns. As a result, Bangladesh have been replaced by Scotland in the 20-team World Cup, which will be held from February 7 to March 8, with Sri Lanka serving as co-hosts.
Despite the ongoing doubts, the Pakistan squad continues its World Cup preparations, with captain Salman Agha underlining the importance of the Australia series.
"These three games will give us an idea how prepared we are for the World Cup," Agha told a news conference on Wednesday. "Australia is a top team and will give us the best final preparations."
Pakistan are placed in Group A alongside defending world champions India, the United States, Namibia and the Netherlands.
Pakistan's spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi returns to full fitness after injuring his knee in the Big Bash League in Australia this month.
"We need to see how many boxes we tick in the series which are important for the World Cup as we aim to do well and win the Cup," Agha said.
A 17-member Australian squad led by Mitchell Marsh arrived in Lahore early on Wednesday, with the last two matches set for January 31 and February 1.
The Australians are without the injured quartet of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Tim David and Nathan Ellis, while allrounder Glenn Maxwell was rested to manage workload.
Marsh still believes Australia were ready for the World Cup tune-up series.
"These are very important times in both teams' preparations for the World Cup," said Marsh, whose team will be in Group B with Sri Lanka, Oman, Ireland and Zimbabwe.
"This is a very important series as the conditions are similar and that is against a quality side, so we will assess the situation and be clear about our plans ahead."
With additional input from AFP
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