The newly installed Pakistani captain, Babar Azam, admitted that his team will face a tough test during Australia's tour next month, but promised that his players will seek victory.
Last week, Azam replaced Sarfaraz Ahmed, who was abandoned as a patron and was out of the team after the shocking 3-0 defeat of the Twenty20 team, ranked number one in the world, at the hands of an inexperienced Sri Lanka earlier this month.
Sarfaraz was also eliminated as a test pattern and was replaced by Azhar Ali.
Pakistan will play three Twenty20 internationals in Sydney (November 3), Canberra (November 5) and Perth (November 8). The two tests will be in Brisbane (November 21-25) and Adelaide (November 29-December 3).
Azam, who will be the youngest captain in the country in Twenty20 cricket at age 25, said Australia will be a big challenge.
"Each tour is tough and Australia is always a challenging place due to the additional rebound, but we will look for victories as we always do," he said one day before the team left.
Azam, the number one hitter in the Twenty20 ranking, said he is honored to have the opportunity to lead the country, 12 years after he entered a stadium as a ball catcher.
"I am proud that I am now the captain," he said.
The Sri Lankan debacle, in which he achieved scores of 13, three and 27, did not seem to have affected his confidence.
"Don't judge me for just three games," he said.
"I have traveled through Australia as patron of Pakistan U19 (2012) and with the Pakistan team three years ago, so I have experience in those conditions."
Pakistan will also not have the unconditional Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez, who were not selected for the tour.
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1512870/new-t20-captain-babar-up-for-australia-challenge