Aussie white-ball depth test as stars miss Pakistan tour

22 Feb 2022 Dave Middleton

Australia have named a 16-player squad for the white-ball leg of their tour of Pakistan, with David Warner, Glenn Maxwell and their three star fast bowlers missing

Australia's white-ball depth will be tested next month with David Warner, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitch Starc and Glenn Maxwell to all miss the limited-overs leg of their upcoming tour of Pakistan.

However, Cricket Australia will not be releasing its contracted stars to join the early stages of the Indian Premier League, with that tournament expected to overlap with the three ODIs and one-off T20, to be played in Rawalpindi from March 29.

Australia's ODI and T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

Cummins, Warner and Hazlewood will all tour Pakistan for the three-Test series that starts next Friday in Rawalpinidi, and were all bought at this month's IPL 'mega auction' for deals in excess of A$1m, while Maxwell was retained on a A$2m contract.

As CA-contracted players, their annual leave period begins on April 6 – the day after the Pakistan tour concludes – and it is understood No Objection Certificates have been issued for all contracted players from that date.

The IPL schedule has not been confirmed but has widely been reported to be starting on the weekend of March 26-27, immediately following the third Pakistan-Australia Test in Lahore.

Starc, also in the Test squad, again opted out of the IPL auction for the fourth successive year and is estimated to have sacrificed about A$10m in potential earnings since last playing in the T20 tournament in 2015, while Maxwell has been granted leave from the Pakistan tour for his wedding.

Cricket Australia today named a "talented and versatile squad" that national selector George Bailey admitted had been difficult to pull together given the hectic schedule Australia faces, with a mid-year tour to Sri Lanka and home T20 World Cup looming.

Five members of the squad also have IPL deals, including Marcus Stoinis, who was picked up by new franchise Lucknow Super Giants for A$1.7m, and Mitch Marsh, who was bought for A$1.2m by the Delhi Capitals.

Sean Abbott was bought for A$446,000 by the Sunrisers Hyderabad, while Jason Behrendorff (Royal Challengers Bangalore) and Nathan Ellis (Punjab Kings) were also snapped up at the IPL auction for A$139,000 each.

With no direct flights between Pakistan and India, it's understood those players will need a connecting flight via Dubai and will have to quarantine on arrival in India after the Pakistan series.

With only one T20 to be played on the tour, Matthew Wade will not make the trip to Pakistan. The 34-year-old Tasmanian is due for a return to the IPL this year after being bought by new franchise Gujurat Titans at the auction for A$446,000.

Wade's absence from the Pakistan tour opens the door for Josh Inglis to take the gloves for Australia for the first time following his impressive debut series against Sri Lanka. Alex Carey, who captained Australia in their most recent ODI campaign last year, is expected to take the gloves for the one-day portion of the tour.

Australian players not on a CA contract such as Riley Meredith and Daniel Sams will be free to link up with their IPL clubs after any state commitments are over, as will A$1.53 million man Tim David and fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile, neither of whom hold state contracts.

In Warner's absence, Ben McDermott looks set to continue his extended run as Aaron Finch's opening partner having opened in all five T20s against Sri Lanka, scoring a fifty in the opening match before scores of 18, 0, 9 and 3 in the following four games.

"We have picked a talented and versatile squad with a number of challenges to juggle, including the tour structure of predominantly 50 over games, management of several multi-format players in the medium to long term; and our need to build experience and depth in preparation for two short-form World Cups within the next 18 months," Bailey said in a statement.

"We're confident the squad can both compete successfully on this tour and continue our progress towards those crucial tournaments."

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Australia have played only three ODI series since the start of the pandemic; against England in the UK in mid-2020, a home campaign against India later that year and three games against the West Indies last July when a number of big names, including Warner, Maxwell and Cummins, were missing.

A planned home ODI series against New Zealand this summer was scrapped due to NZ's changed quarantine rules, making this summer the first in 44 years where there has been no ODI cricket.

That series was to mark the Australia men's team's debut in a fresh Indigenous kit, which will now first be worn in the ODIs against Pakistan, the first time an Australian cricket team has worn an Indigenous-themed uniform abroad.

Qantas Tour of Pakistan 2022

Pakistan Test squad: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Zahid Mahmood

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner. On standby: Sean Abbott, Brendan Doggett, Nic Maddinson, Matthew Renshaw

March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi

March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi

March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore

March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi

March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi

April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi

April 5: Only T20I, Rawalpindi

All matches to be broadcast in Australia on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports