This rapid-fire series of three games in four days will serve a dual purpose for Australia – key preparation ahead of the T20 World Cup, and a chance for a few fresh faces to get a taste of international cricket.
Mahli Beardman and Jack Edwards are the two looking to claim international debuts in this series, while Matthew Renshaw is looking to become a three-format international for Australia.
After these three bilateral matches, Australia will have one official warm-up match – also against Pakistan! – in Sri Lanka before their World Cup campaign gets underway on February 11.
Series schedule
First T20I: January 29, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, 10pm AEDT (4pm PKT)
Second T20I: January 31, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, 10pm AEDT (4pm PKT)
Third T20I: February 1, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, 10pm AEDT (4pm PKT)
How to watch?
The series will be broadcast on Foxtel and Kayo Sports. You can sign up to a free trial of Kayo Sports here.
How else can I follow?
Cricket.com.au and the CA Live app is the place to go for all the news, highlights and reactions during Australia’s T20 tour of Pakistan and the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 that follows.
The Unplayable Podcast will also be tracking the World Cup campaign, with interviews and updates from on the ground in Sri Lanka and India.
The squads
Australia squad: Mitch Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitch Owen, Josh Philippe, Matthew Renshaw, Matt Short, Marcus Stonis, Adam Zampa
None of injured quartet Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Tim David or Nathan Ellis are making the trip to Sri Lanka, while Glenn Maxwell is also skipping this tour.
Cummins is not expected to link up with Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign until later in the tournament as he continues to recover from the lumbar issue that kept him to just one Test match in this summer’s Ashes series.
Hazlewood didn’t feature in that series at all with a hamstring complaint that was compounded by an Achilles issue, while David and Ellis both injured hamstrings during the Big Bash campaign.
Maxwell is not injured but had a difficult Big Bash season with the Melbourne Stars and the 37-year-old has been given extra time to refresh himself ahead of what could be his final World Cup.
It means Xavier Bartlett is the sole specialist quick from the World Cup squad who will play in Pakistan, with fringe quicks Ben Dwarshuis and Sean Abbott getting an opportunity to push their case should reinforcements be required, while Mahli Beardman appears certain to be capped after an excellent Big Bash season.
Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay, Mohammad Nawaz, Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Usman Tariq
Babar Azam has been named in the Pakistan side after departing the Sydney Sixers camp on the eve of their Challenger final. The star batter will be relieved to retain his spot in his country’s T20 side after a forgettable few weeks in Australia for his maiden BBL campaign.
In a positive news for Pakistan fans, left-armer Shaheen Shah Afridi, whose BBL|15 stint with the Brisbane Heat was cut short with a knee injury, has recovered to be named in the squad. However, Haris Rauf was again ignored by the selectors despite having a successful season with the Melbourne Stars with 20 wickets to his name.
There was no place for Melbourne Renegades’ Muhammad Rizwan either, with Khawaja Nafay getting the backing to take the gloves after his impressive debut against Sri Lanka this month.
Local knowledge
Rapid Stats
- Australia have won their last two multi-game bilateral men’s T20I series against Pakistan (3-0 in November 2024 and 2-0 in November 2019); and they also won the one-off T20I in April 2022 by three wickets.
- Pakistan are undefeated in their last three multi-game bilateral men’s T20I series (W2 D1); the last time Pakistan recorded a longer unbeaten run in such series was a span of nine from September 2016 to November 2018 (W9).
- Australia are undefeated in their last five multi-game bilateral men’s T20I series away from home (W4 D1) – their joint-longest unbeaten run on the road in such series in the history of the format.
- Pakistan have won their last six men’s T20Is at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore; a seventh consecutive win in this game would equal their longest winning run at a single venue at home in the history of the format (W7 at National Stadium in Karachi from April 2008 to December 2021).
- Australia have scored 66 per cent of their runs from boundaries in men’s T20Is since the beginning of 2025, the best rate of any ICC full member team in that time; they’ve hit a boundary once every 4.5 balls faced which is the most frequent of any Test playing country in the format during this period.
- Only West Indies (42.2 per cent) have a higher batting dot ball rate than Pakistan (40.5 per cent) amongst ICC full member teams in men’s T20Is since the beginning of 2025.
- Only India’s Ishan Kishan (224.4 from 41 balls faced) has a better batting strike rate during the Powerplay than Australia’s Tim David (215.6 from 45 balls faced) and Cameron Green (214.7 from 34 balls faced) amongst players from ICC full member teams in men’s T20Is since the beginning of 2025 (min. 15 balls faced during Powerplay).
- Adam Zampa (Australia) has a bowling average of 6.5 during the death overs (17th-20th) in men’s T20Is since the beginning of 2025, the second best of any player (min. 5 overs bowled) from an ICC full member team during this period (Kuldeep Yadav – 2.6 for India).
Players to watch
Sahibzada Farhan: The strongly-built right-hander will take his place at the top of the Pakistan order and has been in good touch in recent weeks and months. He was his side’s top scorer at the Asia Cup in September and hit a match-winning half-century against Sri Lanka earlier this month. Interestingly, Farhan made his international debut against Australia way back in 2018 when the sides played a tri-series in Zimbabwe. A late bloomer on the international stage, 34 of his 37 T20Is have come in the past 24 months.
Ben Dwarshuis: Coming off another fine BBL campaign that saw him finish with 16 wickets and an economy rate of below eight (7.85), Dwarshuis will see this series as a golden opportunity to press his claims for further Aussie honours. Name-checked by selection chair George Bailey as a potential T20 World Cup replacement for Pat Cummins if the Test skipper doesn’t recover in time, Dwarshuis offers the side a point of difference with his left-arm pace following the retirement of Mitch Starc in the format. Dwarshuis made his T20I debut the last time Australia played in Pakistan, in April 2022.
Form Guide
Past 10 matches, most recent first. W: win, L: loss, N: no result
Australia: NLLWNWNWWL
Not exactly the most flattering form line for Australia heading into this one, following a 2-1 series loss to India at home over the summer, that included washouts in Canberra and Brisbane. But they have been in strong form in recent times: before the India series they won 2-0 in New Zealand – with a match washed out – before winning 2-1 against South Africa in the top end of Australia last August. And before that Australia had won eight T20Is on the bounce, a run that began with a 3-0 win against Pakistan at home in November 2024.
Pakistan: LNWWLWWWWW
Pakistan lost their last start against Sri Lanka in Dambulla to draw a series 1-1. Before that they had won four of five matches in a tri-series involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, including the final, with all matches played in Rawalpindi. They won both their two most recent matches in Lahore, against South Africa last October. They last hosted Australia for a one-off match during Australia’s groundbreaking 2022 tour, which the Aussies won by three wickets.
Then it’s on to the T20 World Cup
Of course after this series, Australia will be relocating to Colombo for the World Cup proper.
Australia’s Group Stage fixtures
February 11: v Ireland, R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (8:30pm AEDT)
February 13: v Zimbabwe, R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (4:30pm AEDT)
February 16: v Sri Lanka, Pallekele International Stadium, Kandy (Feb 17, 12:30am AEDT)
February 20: v Oman, Pallekele International Stadium, Kandy (Feb 21, 12:30am AEDT)
Australia’s Super Eight fixtures
(Assuming all seeded teams qualify)
February 23: Australia (X2) v West Indies (X3), Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai (Feb 24, 12:30am AEDT)
February 26: India (X1) v Australia (X2), MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai (Feb 27, 12:30am AEDT)
March 1: Australia (X2) v South Africa (X4), Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, 8:30pm AEDT
Click here for the full tournament schedule
All matches will be broadcast on Amazon’s Prime Video
