AUS vs PAK 2024/25, AUS vs PAK 1st T20I Match Preview

Big picture: Who cares wins

Australia have been maligned in some quarters for allegedly “not caring” about the ODI format following their shock 2-1 loss to Pakistan. They field an equally depleted T20I side with three first-choice T20I bowlers, permanent T20 captain Mitchell Marsh and their best T20 opener Travis Head unavailable. It gives Pakistan the chance to complete a rare white-ball series double in Australia, where the same set of fast bowlers minus Mohammad Hasnain will be unleashed on the same fragile batting unit in the three-match series from Thursday.

But the immediacy of results in T20I cricket is of even less importance to Australia than the ODI series was. This series is part of the early build-up towards the 2026 T20 World Cup and 2028 Olympics after their experienced group was bounced out of the 2024 T20 World Cup at the Super Eight stage.

The winds of change have already swept through the five T20Is they played in Great Britain against Scotland and England. Josh Inglis is now the permanent wicketkeeper and will be the stand-in captain for this series as he was for the last ODI in Perth. He is also a key pillar in the top four and looks set to hit no. 3 after making a stunning century in Scotland at that position.

Matthew Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk will open together in T20Is for the first time after alternating as Head’s partner in Great Britain. Fraser-McGurk hit no. 3 in his last T20I in England and made a half-century. He will be far more comfortable in the shorter form than he was in the ODIs, but his method against the moving and bouncy new ball will be tested again by Pakistan’s quicks as he battles with Short to be Head’s permanent partner in T20I cricket.

For Pakistan, it will be their first T20I since failing to make the Super Eight at the T20 World Cup in June. The RizBar style of cricket received intense criticism in the aftermath of that World Cup, when Babar Azam lost the white-ball captaincy to Mohammad Rizwan. Any changes to their style of cricket and long-term planning for 2026 and 2028 have been shelved following Gary Kirsten’s resignation with Jason Gillespie as interim boss. Pakistan did not need to show any heightened aggression with the bat in the ODI series as it was won on the back of an excellent fast bowling performance. They will undoubtedly be looking to repeat that bowling success in the T20I series against a similar Australian top order.

How they structure the batting remains to be seen with Saim Ayub not named in the squad after opening in their last T20I alongside Rizwan and scoring 82 and 42 in the two ODI wins in Adelaide and Perth. Pakistan also hardly used a fifth bowler in the ODI series but will likely need a fifth and sixth option in the T20I.

Form guide

Australia: LWWWW (Last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan: WWLLLL

In the spotlight: Tim David and Babar Azam

Tim David is in an interesting phase of his career. At 28, the on-loan T20 gun has come off the boil as a finisher in recent times in what is a brutally difficult role to be consistent. He remains an important part of Australia’s middle order in the shortest form, but the team hierarchy identified that he was underused in the World Cup and wanted to let him face more balls to give him more time to be set before the final over’s launch. He hit no. 5 once in the five games on the recent UK tour. He may get an opportunity in that slot during this series.

Babar Azam is still the no. 4-ranked T20I batsman in the world, but his strike-rate was a focus of attention in the wake of the World Cup fiasco. Where he will bat in this series remains to be seen, but he will be released. He looked good in the ODI series but was not under pressure in these matches. It will be interesting to see if he can step up the gears in the T20Is or if he sticks to his methods.

Team news: Injured quick returns to Australia

Australia will have at least three forced changes from their last T20I in September with Head, Connolly and Cameron Green all unavailable. Glenn Maxwell returns after resting from the T20I leg of the UK tour. Ellis, Bartlett and Johnson return from injury to join Sean Abbott in the squad. Three of these four will form the pace attack along with Adam Zampa with some rotation likely to feature in the three games.

Australia (probable): 1 Matt Short, 2 Jake Fraser-McGurk, 3 Josh Inglis (capt/wk), 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Tim David, 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Aaron Hardie, 8 Nathan Ellis/Sean Abbott, 9 Xavier Bartlett, 10 Spencer Johnson, 11 Adam Zampa

Pakistan team: Mohammad Rizwan (capt/wk), Abbas Afridi, Agha Salman, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wk), Irfan Khan, Jahandad Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usman Khan.

Stand and conditions

There has only been one professional game at the Gabba so far this season and that was a WBBL clash. It was one of the highest scoring matches of the season and both sides are expecting a good white ball pitch with more pace and bounce for the fast bowlers. However, it will be hot and humid, so the ball will likely swing. There is also a slight threat of rain and thunderstorms in the forecast.

Quotes

“T20 cricket is obviously a completely different format so I think we will take our experience from the ODI series and the information we have gathered about the bowlers and their batsmen. But it is a clean slate, new format. We are looking forward us very much to it.”
Josh Inglis on bouncing back from the ODI series loss