MELBOURNE: Pakistan’s bid at identifying their perfect combination for next year’s Champions Trophy will open at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday, when they take on Australia for the opening fixture of the three-match One-day International series.

Set to be followed by as many T20Is against the hosts, the one-dayers are Pakistan’s first white-ball assignment after their disastrous T20 World Cup in June this year.

But since then, a lot has changed in Pakistan cricket. Most importantly, they have a new captain in Mohammad Rizwan, who has replaced Babar Azam as the side’s white-ball skipper. Moreover, their head coach of the two short formats during the T20 World Cup, Gary Kirsten, has resigned after just six months in charge last week. Meanwhile, the head coaches and the captains have been stripped off player selection roles with a revamped and a fully-empowered selection committee in charge.

While red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie has been handed the interim duty to lead the team management staff for the Australia tour, Asad Shafiq — a member of the national selection committee — is also Down Under. And the ex-Pakistan player named the playing XI for the first ODI on Sunday on behalf of the committee.

From a squad featuring a host of young, emerging players, Pakistan have picked a new-look playing XI with Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub — making his debut — forming the opening pair in the absence of experienced mainstay Fakhar Zaman, who was left out amid controversy.

Kamran Ghulam, who shined with a century in the second Test against England last month, will be playing only his second ODI in a middle-order featuring Babar, Rizwan and newly-appointed vice-captain Salman Ali Agha.

According the line-up shared by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Mohammad Irfan Khan, also making his debut, will be placed in the lower-middle order when the side takes the field at the iconic MCG.

The bowling attack is all about pace, with struggling spearheads Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah to lead the charge, while Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain — making a return to ODIs after January 2023 — as the third and fourth fast-bowling options.

“We believe that things will be easier for us heading into the Champions Trophy because we have youth coming up,” Rizwan told reporters on the eve of the match, suggesting the series will be all about preparing for the big competitions. “We expect to be in a good position for the Champions Trophy.”

Led by Pat Cummins, world champions Australia have gone with a full-fledge side, featuring the likes of pacers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood along with batters Marnus Labuschagne and Glenn Maxwell.

With an expected huge crowd at the giant venue, it will be a challenge for a reforming Pakistan side.

“Australia is a good side, and they have the advantage of playing in home conditions,” noted Rizwan. “The only thing they have is the benefit of the home crowd, but we will try our best to not let it be of much use to them.

“We don’t want to prove anything; we just want to play normal cricket. We are here not just to compete, but to do our best against these guys.”

About leading Pakistan for the first time as a full-time captain, Rizwan said it wasn’t something that was totally new to him.

“As a captain, I’ve done it in franchise cricket and before that, at the Under-19 level, and other times as well,” he observed. “So this isn’t a new thing for me.

“… it’s basically like coaching; your duty is to take things forward. You see the ability of players and utilise it well.”

Pakistan’s last ODI assignment was the World Cup in India last year, where the team couldn’t make it through the league round, winning only two matches. Rizwan admitted the record wasn’t something to be proud of.

“Yes, we lost those matches, but we might have lacked something in preparation or execution,” he said. “I believe in focusing on the process, execution, and hard work.”

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2024