Australia unveils 16-player squad for historic white-ball tour of Pakistan

A quartet of high-profile Australian Test cricketers will not feature in next month’s historic white-ball tour of Pakistan.

Several high-profile Australian cricketers will not feature in next month’s white-ball tour of Pakistan, with a quartet of Test players rested from the historic series.

Pat Cummins, David Warner, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood have not been named in Australia’s 16-player squad for three ODIs and a T20 against Pakistan, which will take place after a three-Test series in the Asian nation.

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Victorian powerhouse Glenn Maxwell will also miss the white-ball series after being granted leave for his wedding.

The one-day tour of Pakistan coincides with the opening stages of the Indian Premier League, but Australia’s contracted players will not be permitted to take part in the marquee T20 series until their annual leave period begins on April 6.

Kane Richardson will lead an inexperienced pace bowling attack that includes West Australian Jason Behrendorff, Tasmania’s Nathan Ellis and New South Welshman Sean Abbott.

Young all-rounder Cameron Green has replaced the experienced Moises Henriques, who featured in the Australian squad for last week’s T20 series against Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, Ben McDermott will get another chance to prove his worth at the top of the order after registering a cluster of low scores in the Sri Lanka series.

With only one T20 match scheduled, incumbent gloveman Matthew Wade has not been selected for the Pakistan tour, with Alex Carey and Josh Inglis sharing the wicketkeeping duties.

Five members of the Australian white-ball squad have IPL deals, including T20 World Cup champions Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Marsh.

Aaron Finch of Australia. Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

“We have picked a talented and versatile squad with a number of challenges to juggle, including the tour structure of predominantly 50 over games, management of several multi-format players in the medium to long term; and our need to build experience and depth in preparation for two short-form World Cups within the next 18 months,” national selector George Bailey said in a statement.

“We‘re confident the squad can both compete successfully on this tour and continue our progress towards those crucial tournaments.”

Australia has not played a men’s ODI match in Pakistan since November 1998.

Australia's ODI and T20 squad

Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

Australia white-ball Pakistan tour

March 29 - First ODI, Rawalpindi

March 31 - Second ODI, Rawalpindi

April 2 - Third ODI, Rawalpindi

April 5 - Only T20I, Rawalpindi