Mohammad Rizwan hopes Australia tour helps new Pakistan squad find their footing

Pakistan’s new white-ball skipper Mohammad Rizwan said Tuesday he hopes a new-look squad will settle into form on their Australia tour, after a saga of upheaval for the side.

Rizwan was appointed captain of limited over formats on Sunday, replacing Babar Azam who had two turns in the post but wasn’t able to allay a run of disastrous tournament performances.

Pakistan suffered further tumult on Monday when white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten resigned over differences on selection just days before the Australia tour. Test coach Jason Gillespie will stand in as a replacement.

Three one-day international matches will kick off in Melbourne on November 4, followed by the same number of T20Is in a test of the team ahead of next year’s Champion Trophy.

Openers Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq were dropped on fitness and disciplinary issues.

“We will miss them, but ahead of a major event like the Champions Trophy we want to test various combinations and hope they will settle before the event,” Rizwan told reporters.

Pakistan recalled Azam and pace spearheads Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah for the series after dropping them for the last two Tests of the England series they won 2-1 last week.

The ODI squad also includes Aamer Jamal, Arafat Minhas, Faisal Akram, Haseebullah, Muhammad Irfan Khan and Saim Ayub who have yet to play the format.

Jahandad Khan and Salman Ali Agha are previously untested players included in the T20I squad.

“Whoever is the coach we need to combine well and bring good results on a tough tour,” said Rizwan.

Pakistan have won only two of their last 16 ODIs in Australia and lost three of the four T20Is.