Pakistan tour of Australia 2024 schedule announced

The Pakistan national team, who are currently searching for a new head coach, will embark on a month-long tour of Australia later this year in November. The Asian Giants had recently toured to the land down under for a 3-match Test series as part of the 2023-25 ICC World Test Championship cycle where they were drubbed by 3-0. It was the first time in a few years that the team were not playing under Babar Azam‘s captaincy.

The star batter had stepped down from captaincy across all formats right after Pakistan bowed out of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in India from the group stages. It was for the 3rd edition in a row that the 1992 World Cup winners weren’t able to reach the knockout rounds. The PCB then decided to appoint different captains across formats.

It started with the Test team which went for the Australian tour right after the World Cup final. Batter Shan Masood was elected as the red-ball captain under the regime of then-team director Mohammad Hafeez. Then after the 3-0 whitewash, Pakistan traveled a few kilometers from there to New Zealand for a 5-match T20I series.

Left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi was trusted for the T20I captaincy but Pakistan’s fate remained the same as they headed back home after a 4-1 series loss. No captain was appointed for the ODI team as the Green Army hadn’t played any 50-over cricket since the CWC 2023 where they had finished 5th in the league table.

Pakistan to play ODIs in MCG, Adelaide & Perth; T20Is in Gabba, SCG and Hobart

Cricket Australia, earlier today, released all of their fixtures for both Men’s and Women’s teams for the  2024 calendar year. Australia’s Women’s team will begin the home summer of cricket by playing a 3-match T20I series against New Zealand and then it will be time for the Men’s side to begin their 2024 home campaign.

It will start with the white-ball series against Pakistan as the Aussies will first play 3 ODIs on November 4, 8, and 10 at MCG, Adelaide, and Perth and then the T20I series on 14, 16 and 18 at Gabba, SCG and Hobart. The World Champions will then play the much-awaited 5-match Border-Gavaskar Test series from November to January.

The 1st Test match is slated for November 22 at the Optus stadium, the 2nd Test in Adelaide from December 6, the 3rd Test at the Gabba from December 14, the 4th Boxing Day Test from December 26, and the 5th Test will start from January 3rd, 2025.

Australia Men fixtures for the 2024-25 season:

ODIs vs Pakistan:
4 November: MCG, Melbourne (D/N)
8 November: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (D/N)
10 November: Perth Stadium, Perth (D/N)

T20Is vs Pakistan:
14 November: The Gabba, Brisbane (N)
16 November: SCG, Sydney (N)
18 November: Bellerive Oval, Hobart (N)

Tests vs India:

22-26 November: Perth Stadium, Perth
6-10 December: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (D/N)
14-18 December: The Gabba, Brisbane
26-30 December: MCG, Melbourne
3-7 January: SCG, Sydney

Pakistan’s National Camp in Kakul gets underway

Meanwhile, Pakistan have started their first National Camp for 2024 in the military area of Kakul. The camp coincides with the ICC delegation’s tour to the country to check up on the security arrangements of the stadiums in Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi.

The Apex international board has sent its team in order for them to prepare a report on the security front so that Pakistan can host the ICC Champions Trophy next year in February without many problems. The PCB had signed all the hosting rights last year but it remains to be seen if India travels for the tournament or not.