Cricket Australia (CA) is gearing up for a white-ball series tour to Pakistan, scheduled for early next year, signaling a positive step towards strengthening cricketing ties between the two nations.
During an online press conference, CA CEO Todd Greenberg conveyed his positive outlook on the upcoming tour, emphasising the significance of the series against Pakistan and the ongoing collaboration between the two cricket boards.
"I believe it will be another good tour of Pakistan. The series against Pakistan is an important part of our schedule. There has been good communication between Pakistan and Australia regarding both red-ball and white-ball series," Greenberg said.
"We need to look for more opportunities for series, which we will definitely do," he added.
Looking back on the 2022 tour, Greenberg expressed enthusiasm about future matches in Pakistan.
"We would like to play a series in Pakistan. In 2022, we toured Pakistan after a long gap, and the tour was very successful. The Australian team received a warm welcome. It would be great if such series continue to happen."
Greenberg emphasised the league's commitment to bringing in talent from Pakistan, recognising the popularity of Pakistani players among fans, and explained the mutual benefits of such participation.
"There is no doubt that Pakistani players are very popular within the community. Our effort is to attract players from all over the world for the BBL," he said.
"If leading Pakistani players come, they will definitely enjoy it here. The league will benefit greatly from these top players for their teams and franchises," he added.
Regarding player participation, Greenberg confirmed, "I hope we will definitely attract some players for the next edition of the BBL."
It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan last toured Australia in November 2024 for a white-ball series.
Under Mohammad Rizwan's captaincy, the Men in Green secured a historic 2-1 victory in the ODI series - their first series win in Australia since 2002.
However, Australia bounced back strongly, winning the subsequent T20I series 3-0.
For the unversed, according to the Future Tours Programme (FTP) for 202527, Australia are expected to tour Pakistan for a white-ball series featuring three ODIs and three T20Is in FebruaryMarch.
White-ball camp
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has summoned 22 top white-ball performers for a camp, including the senior trio of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi on Monday.
According to the details, the shortlisted 22 players will report for the camp here in three groups, scheduled to be held on June 3, 4 and 5 respectively.
During the camp, the PCB will inform the players about the future course of action, while their fitness and respective performances will also be analysed.
Sources further suggested that senior players will participate in all three training sessions, which will also feature the top performers of the recently concluded Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10.
Furthermore, Pakistan's white-ball head coach Mike Hesson will meet with top performers and will update them regarding the future course of action.
Players called up for training camp: Babar Azam, Usman Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shahid Aziz, Abbas Afridi, Salman Mirza, Mir Hamza, Abdullah Shafique, Khawaja Nafay, Haider Ali, Ahmed Daniyal, Mehran Mumtaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Rizwan, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Nawaz, Aamir Jamal, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Ali Raza and Tayyab Tahir.
For the unversed, Pakistan's white-ball entered a new era under the leadership of former New Zealand head coach Hesson.
The 50-year-old had an ideal start to his tenure as the green shirts registered a 3-0 T20I series whitewash against Bangladesh, which also marked their first series triumph at home since December 2021.
Following the drought-ending series victory over Bangladesh, Pakistan are scheduled for a brief break before touring back to Bangladesh next month for a potential three-match T20I series.
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