RAWALPINDI, Pakistan: Pakistan won the toss and elected to field in the first one-day international of the three-match series against Australia on Saturday.
Pakistan, which has won its last two bilateral ODI series against Australia, awarded a debut to all-rounder Arafat Minhas while Shadab Khan returned to the 50-over format for the first time since the 2023 World Cup.
Batting star Babar Azam is also back after being left out of the last series in March, which Pakistan lost against Bangladesh. He was dropped due to poor form in the T20 World Cup.
Mitchell Marsh was due to lead Australia but is ruled out of the series because of an ankle problem. Josh Inglis will be the captain.
Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc are being rested, while fellow paceman Josh Hazlewood is playing at the Indian Premier League.
The young spinner Ollie Peake, 19, makes his ODI debut and Tanveer Sangha is preferred to experienced leg-break bowler Adam Zampa.
Lahore will host the remaining ODIs on Tuesday and Thursday.
LINE-UPS
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Maaz Sadaqat, Babar Azam, Ghazi Ghori, Salman Ali Agha, Abdul Samad, Shadab Khan, Arafat Minhas, Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
Australia: Matthew Short, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis (captain), Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Matthew Renshaw, Ollie Peake, Nathan Ellis, Tanveer Sangha, Billy Stanlake, Matthew Kuhnemann.
