Pakistan have arrived in Australia ahead of their three-Test series starting with a day-night encounter at the Gabba on December 15. The tourists will warm up for that match with a three-day pink-ball affair at Cazaly's Stadium in Cairns against a Cricket Australia XI on Thursday.
Coached by former South Africa and Australia coach Mickey Arthur, Pakistan rose to the top of the Test rankings earlier in the year, but have dropped to fourth following a 2-0 series loss last month to New Zealand. Pakistan beat Australia 2-0 when the teams met two years ago in the UAE, but haven't won a Test in Australia in more than 20 years. Daniel Cherny looks at the touring party trying to end that drought.
Misbah-ul-Haq (captain)
Age: 42 Tests: 69 Batsman, ave: 48
Old man river, the Pakistan skipper still hasn't put an end date on his international career, which only took off in the second half of his fourth decade. At 42 Misbah remains a force, ranked 14th in the ICC Test batting table. He will be looking to repeat his heroics from the series against Australia in the UAE two years ago, in which he averaged 135 in a crushing 2-0 victory, including notching what was at the time the equal-fastest century in Test history.
Asad Shafiq
Age: 30 Tests: 50 Batsman, ave: 41
Moving into the veteran category after 50 Tests, the middle-order mainstay has been a steady if not always prolific scorer for his country. While he averages close to 50 in Asia, his record elsewhere is not as flash, highlighted by his recent struggles in New Zealand, where he made just 56 runs in four innings.
Azhar Ali
Age: 31 Tests: 54 Batsman, ave: 45
Recently promoted to an opener's slot, he made history this year when he posted 302(n.o.) against the West Indies in Dubai, becoming the first man to make a century in a pink ball Test. He is one of several Pakistan players who could fairly be accused of being a flat-track bully. Of his 11 Test centuries, only one has come outside of Asia; the 139 he made against England in Birmingham this year.
Babar Azam
Age: 22 Tests: 3 Batsman, ave: 46
The 22-year-old has impressed early in his international career, with an average of 52 after 18 ODIs. He made his Test debut in the recent series against the West Indies and showed a possible sign of things to come with a gritty, unbeaten 90 against New Zealand in Hamilton last month.
Imran Khan
Age: 29 Tests: 8 Fast bowler, ave: 27
A namesake of the legendary all-rounder, this Imran Khan is a right-arm fast bowler who made his debut in the series against Australia two years ago. Since then he's been on the fringe of the Test side, recalled for the first time in over a year against the Black Caps in Hamilton where he took six wickets. He is a genuine walking wicket with the bat though, amazingly having made just six runs in his eight Tests with an average of 1.50.
Mohammad Amir
Age: 24 Tests: 22 Fast bowler, ave: 32
Not yet 25, Mohammad Amir has lived an extraordinary life. In 2010 he became the youngest bowler to take 50 Test wickets, but was not long after he was sentenced to six months' jail, and banned from cricket for five years for his involvement in the spot-fixing scandal uncovered by English tabloid News of the World. But the left-arm quick, who troubled Australia in a 2010 Test series in England, has made a solid return to the fold without setting the world on fire. Infamously dropped Ricky Ponting on zero in Hobart seven summers ago, with the then-Australian captain capitalising on his life by making a double century.
Mohammad Nawaz
Age: 22 Tests: 3 All-rounder: Batting ave, 13; bowling ave: 29
The young, left-arm spinning, all-rounder made his Test debut against the West Indies in October, playing all three Tests, but failing to make a major impression with bat or ball. He lost his spot for the subsequent Tests against New Zealand, but will be an option in Australia.
Mohammad Rizwan
Age: 24 Tests: 1 Batsman, ave: 13
Having become a regular in the limited-overs formats over the past 18 months, the emerging batsman made his Test debut in Hamilton against the Black Caps last month and was dismissed for a golden duck in the first innings, before remaining not out on 13 as wickets fell around him in a second innings capitulation.
Rahat Ali
Age: 28 Tests: 19 Fast bowler, ave: 37
The left-arm swing merchant has been largely solid, if unspectacular, so far in his 19-Test career but looms as a threat to Australia's batsman in the series opener at the Gabba, where the pink ball is expected to move under lights.
Sami Aslam
Age: 20 Tests: 9, Batsman, ave: 39
A prodigious talent, the left-hander has become a regular atop the Pakistan batting order despite being just 20. He made 91 in the second innings of the recent Test against New Zealand in Hamilton, but is yet to convert one of his six Test half-centuries into a ton.
Sarfraz Ahmed
Age: 29 Tests: 30, Wicketkeeper. Batting ave: 41
Captain of the Pakistan Twenty20 team, the wicketkeeper has become a solid member of the Test side, although having not reached 50 in 10 Tests outside Asia this series shapes as a challenge.
Sharjeel Khan
Age: 27 Tests: 0 Batsman
The opening batsman has experience in both ODIs and Twenty20 internationals, but only received a call-up to the Test squad for the recent series in New Zealand, and wasn't picked for either of the Tests.
Sohail Khan
Age: 32 Tests: 8 Fast bowler, ave: 41
The paceman made his international debut in early 2008, but has only become a Test regular this year after impressing during the tour of England – where he took 13 wickets in two Tests.
Wahab Riaz
Age: 31 Tests: 21 Fast bowler, ave: 34
The left-arm quick has been in and out of the Test team since making his debut in 2010. While he's never played a Test against Australia, he has shown an ability to bowl well in this country – albeit with the white ball – taking 16 wickets in the 2015 world cup.
Yasir Shah
Age: 30 Tests: 20 Leg-spin bowler, ave: 28
The leg-spinner made his debut against Australia in the UAE two years ago after Saeed Ajmal was banned for chucking, and has barely looked back. He took 12 wickets in that two-Test series and has 40 scalps this year, moving him to No.9 on the ICC Test bowling rankings.
Younis Khan
Age: 39 Tests: 112 Batsman, ave: 53
Having turned 39 last month, the former captain is one of the last players of his generation, having made his Test debut in early 2000. He remains a key wicket for opposition as the No.10 Test batsman in the world, but had an extremely lean tour of New Zealand, making just 16 runs in four wickets.
