PAK vs AUS: Mitchell Marsh sits out, Travis Head to captain Australia in 1st T20I; toss at 4pm IST
Welcome to Sportstar’s live coverage of the first T20I between Pakistan and Australia being held at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on January 29.
PREVIEW
Pakistan takes on Australia in a three-match Twenty20 International series starting in Lahore on Thursday, despite doubts over its participation in next month’s World Cup in cricket’s shortest format.
The country’s cricket chief, Mohsin Naqvi, will announce a final decision on taking part in the mega event either on Friday or Monday.
Pakistan is protesting over last week’s decision by the International Cricket Council (ICC), which rejected Bangladesh’s demand to relocate its matches out of India over security fears.
Bangladesh has been replaced by Scotland in the 20-team event, which runs from February 7 to March 8 with Sri Lanka as co-host.
However, despite the doubts, the Pakistan team has been preparing for the World Cup, with skipper Salman Agha stressing the importance of the Australia series.
(To read the full preview, click here)
The first T20I between Pakistan and Australia will begin at 4:30 PM IST. The toss will take place at 4 PM IST.
The squads
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Salman Agha (c), Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq, Khawaja Nafay, Naseem Shah
Australia: Mitchell Marsh (c), Travis Head, Matthew Short, Josh Inglis (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Owen, Ben Dwarshuis, Xavier Bartlett, Adam Zampa, Sean Abbott, Mahli Beardman, Matt Renshaw, Cameron Green, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Philippe, Jack Edwards, Cooper Connolly
Published on Jan 29, 2026
