With eye on ICC Champions Trophy, Pakistan's new captain Mohammad Rizwan seeks ideal team combination in ODI series against Australia

Mohammad Rizwan. Pic/AFP

With their sights on the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025, Pakistan is preparing to begin their ODI series against Australia under Mohammad Rizwan's leadership.

After being appointed as the captain, Mohammed Rizwan said that he is determined to find the right team combination for the tournament, which is bolstered by a series of ODI matches in line.

"We are scheduled to play a good number of ODIs before the next year's ICC Champions Trophy back in Pakistan," Mohammed Rizwan said in a statement released by PCB, according to ICC.

"The forthcoming series beginning with Australia, then Zimbabwe, South Africa and the home tri-nation tournament will help us assemble a right combination going into the mega event," he added.

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Having won the Champions Trophy in 2017 by defeating arch-rivals India in the finals, the "Green Shirts" will look to build on their past achievements. The team is currently undergoing a reset to fine-tune their lineup ahead of the prestigious event. In an exciting announcement, Pakistan has revealed their playing XI for the first ODI, featuring debutants Muhammad Irfan Khan and Saim Ayub.

On the other hand, ODI World Cup 2023 champions, Australia also declared their playing XI for the series opener.

This time, Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk will be seen opening the innings for the Aussies. They will be in a contest to fill in the opener's slot along with Travis Head for the Champions Trophy 2025.

Australian skipper Pat Cummins has encouraged his openers to embrace an aggressive style, granting them the freedom to play their natural game reminiscent of T20 cricket.

"Both of them in T20 and one-dayers have been pretty scary to bowl at so that's our message to them," he said ahead of the ODI, according to ICC.

"My preference would be they give it a good crack for sure," he added.

Australia XI for first ODI: Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Steve Smith, Josh Inglis (wk), Marnus Labuschagne, Aaron Hardie, Glenn Maxwell, Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa

Pakistan XI for first ODI: Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (captain/wicket-keeper), Kamran Ghulam, Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain.

(With ANI Inputs)