Sydney, Australia

Pat Cummins is picked in Australia’s 14-man squad for the Pakistan ODIs starting November 4 in Melbourne. The ace seamer returns to the Australian team for the first time since the T20 World Cup in the Americas, with the selectors also picking pacers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. Regular openers Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh are out on paternity leaves; all-rounder Cameron Green will be away for the whole summer with a back injury.

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Considering Pakistan ODIs are Australia’s last scheduled white-ball series before the Champions Trophy next year, the selectors and the management will use this to settle their best XI heading into the eight-team tournament in Pakistan.

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While Cummins is unlikely to play a Sheffield Shield game before the India series beginning November 22, he might feature in the only one-day domestic match for New South Wales on October 25 before captaining Australia against the touring Pakistan side. 

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Cummins, however, might not even feature in all three games, given just a one-day gap between the second and third match and a long-distance flight between Adelaide and Perth. 

Cummins’ bowling partners, Starc and Hazlewood, will be rotated for the same reason, but both hope to play at least one Shield match before the Pakistan series.

“This is our last ODI series before the Champions Trophy, and the balance of the squad was focused on that as well as continuing to focus on the preparation of individuals for the upcoming Test summer,” George Bailey said. 

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“The one-day side had a great result in the UK, particularly given illness and injury challenges. We view this as an opportunity to expand on that achievement in preparation for next February in Pakistan,” he continued. 

Stoinis returns; new opening pair ready

While Marcus Stoinis returned to the ODI squad for the first time since the 2023 World Cup in India, Australia will also have a new opening pair in Matthew Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk. Josh Inglis is picked as the lone keeper-batter, with the hosts extending all-rounder Aaron Hardie’s run in the coloured jersey. 

Following the three ODIs, Australia will face Pakistan in as many T20Is from November 14 to 18, with no Test-bound players likely to get picked. 

Australia’s ODI squad for Pakistan series –

Pat Cummins (captain), Sean Abbott, Cooper Connolly, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa

(With inputs from agencies)