Pakistan are using the contest to finalise their preferred combinations after several senior players were unavailable during the January series against Sri Lanka. Australia, meanwhile, face a less-than-ideal schedule, with the series coming too soon after the Big Bash League and too far ahead of their opening World Cup fixture on February 11. Australia will be without Hazlewood, Cummins, David, Nathan Ellis and Glenn Maxwell in Pakistan, with all five set to join the World Cup squad in Sri Lanka. Xavier Bartlett is the only fast bowler from Australia’s World Cup squad available for the Pakistan tour, while both frontline spinners, Adam Zampa and Matthew Kuhnemann, are part of the series. Pakistan, by contrast, have named their full World Cup squad for the three-match series, with Mohammad Wasim Jr included as additional pace-bowling cover.