Australia Tour of Pakistan: Pat Cummins & Co arrive in Pakistan

Australia Tour of Pakistan: Pat Cummins & Co arrive in Pakistan- The Aussies have finally landed in Pakistan for historic series. They will play three-match Test series in the sub-continent which will be followed by ODIs and one-off T20Is. Pat Cummins will lead the first Test that kick starts at Rawalpindi from March 4. Meanwhile, Aaron Finch will lead Pakistan in ODIs and T20I after the Test matches. Follow PAK vs AUS LIVE score updates on InsideSport.IN

“They have landed,” a security official told AFP while Steve Smith shared a picture on Twitter along with the rest of the squad: “Arrived in Pakistan.”

Australia Tour of Pakistan: Pat Cummins & Co arrive in Pakistan after 24 years for HISTORIC series- Follow LIVE updates

Team Australia have now arrived in Pakistan 🤝

How excited are you for the #PAKvAUS series? 🙌 pic.twitter.com/wQb5CzaPkV

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) February 27, 2022

Australia Tour of Pakistan: Steve Smith, David Warner LEAVE for HISTORIC Pakistan Tour – Check pics

Arrived in 🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/pnis0ckFeO

— Steve Smith (@stevesmith49) February 27, 2022

This is a historic tour for Australia as they will play in Pakistan after 24 years. They last played in Pakistan in 1998, winning a three-Test series 1-0.
None of the current squad members have prior experience of playing in Pakistan
This is also the first time that Australia players are visiting Pakistan without a specialist spin coach in 10 years to a sub-continent nation
It’s the first full tour for Australia to Pakistan since 1998. Australia kick off Pakistan’s exciting bumper season

Early Morning 🇵🇰 🇦🇺 #PAKvAUS pic.twitter.com/111RDX8Ygr

— Ihtisham Ul Haq (@iihtishamm) February 27, 2022

Australia Tour of Pakistan: Pat Cummins & Co arrive in Pakistan after 24 years for HISTORIC series- Follow LIVE updates

Australia had pulled out of a tour five years earlier after a suicide blast at a Lahore church.

Having been forced to play their home games abroad — mostly in the United Arab Emirates — Pakistan appeared to have reassured international cricket authorities last year with both New Zealand and England scheduled to tour.

But the Black Caps hastily departed in September just minutes before their first match was due to start, citing security fears, and England postponed tours by both their men’s and women’s teams soon after.

Pakistan says it has deployed 4000 personnel for safety at the team hotel & ground. Similar arrangements will be in place for matches in Karachi and Lahore, reported Fox Sports.

“The squad will be given ‘head of state-level security’,” a spokesman for Pakistan’s interior ministry told AFP. “Such arrangements are only made for high-level foreign delegations, (and) the president and prime minister of Pakistan,” he added.

Snipers will be positioned on buildings surrounding the stadium, while nearby shops and offices have been ordered to close on match days, the interior ministry said.

Pakistan are due to host eight Tests, 11 ODIs and 13 Twenty20 internationals in the next 13 months.

The Australians will be confined to quarters for 24 hours after arrival for Covid tests before they undergo practice.

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

Australia 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