Pakistan vs Australia 1st ODI - Squad overview, Head-to-Head, & Where to Watch

The last time Pakistan and Australia played an ODI game was in November 2024 in Perth. It was a series decider, which the visitors nailed as they defeated Australia in the first away ODI series since 2002. A year and a half later, both teams are set to face each other again. Josh Inglis is the side's captain once again. Australia are understrength with a wet-behind-the-ears bowling attack. And Pakistan remain stuck in familiar problems.

Squad Overview:

Australia

The first ODI, set to be played in Rawalpindi, will be only the second one-day game Australia has played at the venue, the first since 1994. And a watered-down squad at that makes their challenge, that is if Pakistan decide to pose one, harder.

Earlier this year, Pakistan's spin-friendly surfaces gave Australia a torrid time as they lost the T20I series 3-0 just ahead of the T20 World Cup. While Australian players have maintained that they are prepared to face any such challenge, how true is that?

There were reports, later confirmed by Inglis, that Australia would hand a debut cap to 19-year-old Oliver Peake, while also playing Billy Stanlake in the final XI. Despite that, the visitors have plenty of questions to answer before finalising the team.

With Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh not a part of the touring side, Australia would need to find Matt Short a partner at the opening spot. Inglis could be a good option for that, having done pretty well as an opener against West Indies in 2024. That would disturb the already tacky middle-order, putting more responsibility on the shoulders of Cameron Green, who, as is, has plenty to prove.

Pakistan:

Pakistan's concerns are less about who will do the job and more about whether the person selected will do it right. Their playing XI, at least for the first game, writes itself. The top-order would be selected around Babar Azam at No. 3. With Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, and Usman Khan out injured, Maaz Sadaqat and Sahibzada Farhan are the obvious choices to open the innings.

Without Mohammad Rizwan in the side, they will get either of Ghazi Ghori or Rohail Nazir to get the gloves and bat in the middle, with the former more likely as he was part of the last ODI Pakistan played.

Pakistan have also selected a decent contingent of spin bowlers including Abrar Ahmed, Sufiyan Muqeem, and Arafat Minhas, but only one of them would get the green signal. With the matches getting a start in the evening, dew will play a crucial role and the last thing teams would need is a bowling lineup stacked with spinners. One of these three, likely Abrar, would be joined by Shadab Khan and Salman Ali Agha.

Head-to-head matches: 

In 111 total matches between the two teams, Australia dominate the match-up with 71 wins, while Pakistan were the better side in only 36 of those.

Where to Watch:

Pakistan: PTV Sports, PCB Live app

Australia: Fox Sports

United Kingdom: PCB Live app

India: No confirmed broadcast deal

MENA: Cricbuzz

Bangladesh: TSports, Tapmad

Sri Lanka: Dialog

North America: PCB Live app

Europe: PCB Live app

Caribbean: PCB Live app

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