Pakistan vs Australia in UAE 2019 [Preview]

Australia is scheduled to tour UAE in the month of March to take on Pakistan in a five-match one-day series. The series is going to begin on 22nd March in the UAE. The series will be played across three venues- Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi.

Pakistan will be confident of doing well in their backyard after putting in an intense fight against South Africa in the five match one-day series. Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed will be looking to try various players before selectors can zero in on their final squad for the upcoming Cricket World Cup that will be played in June.

Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq have done well for Pakistan at the top of the innings. Shan Masood is the reserve opener for this series as well. Left-handed batsman Imam was the star of the show with the bat in the one-day series played in South Africa. Zaman will need to score heavily in this one-day series to silence his detractors.

Babar Azam is undoubtedly Pakistan’s premier batsman in limited-overs cricket. He has been a consistent performer with the bat and shown excellent form in the ongoing Pakistan Super League. Azam will undoubtedly be keen to do well against Australia in the upcoming one-day series.

Shoaib Malik, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Mohammad Hafeez are experienced players that make up the middle-order. Hafeez has been sidelined due to injury and might skip the one-day series against Australia. The selectors might go for Umar Akmal, who has shown excellent form in the ongoing Pakistan Super League.

Mohammad Rizwan will be included in the limited-overs squad as a reserve wicket-keeper. The side has plenty of options in the pace department. Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Usman Khan Shinwari and Mohammad Amir are the pace bowlers included for this five-match one-day series.

Faheem Ashraf is another bowling option who can certainly put in decent overs with the new ball. Leg-spinner Shadab Khan and left-arm spinner Imad Wasim are two premier spin options for the side for this five-match one-day series.

On the other hand, Australia will be hoping to do well against Pakistan in this five-match one-day series. The side last won a one-day series in 2017 against the same opponents in Australia. Things have gone wrong since then as World Champions have suffered an endless terminal decline over the past two years.

Selectors will have to make tough decisions as Aaron Finch is going through a lean phase with the bat. He hasn’t scored any runs since being appointed as captain of the limited-overs side.

Usman Khuwaja has done a decent job for Australia at the top of the innings. He has chipped in with crucial scores for the side over past two months. Left-hander will be keen to score runs to cement his place for Australia in the squad for upcoming Cricket World Cup.

Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis have done well for Australia over the past six months. Without a doubt, Marsh has been prolific run-scorer for the side in limited-overs cricket. Left-hander also topped the batting charts for Australia in the three-match one-day series played against India earlier this year.

Marcus Stoinis has indeed produced consistent scores for the side in the limited-overs format. Australia will be hoping that he can bowl some overs during this one-day series.

Jhye Richardson, Jason Behrendorff, Pat Cummins and Nathan Coulter-Nile are premier pace options for the one-day series. The four seamers have done an excellent for the side over the past couple of months. Nathan Lyon and Adam Zampa are two spinners included for the tour of the UAE.

The first two one-day games will be played at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on 22nd and 24th March respectively. The third game will be played on 27th March at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi. The final two games of the one-day series will be played on 29th and 31st March in Dubai.