Mitchell Marsh Confident Australia Ready for Pakistan T20 Challenge

Captain Mitchell Marsh, along with seven other players in Australia's squad, played in the final of their domestic T20 tournament, the Big Bash League, in Perth, Western Australia, on Sunday night.

While racing against the clock to acclimatise to the conditions in Pakistan, the Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers players, who contested the BBL decider, have now joined the remaining members of the squad, who have been preparing in Dubai.

It means they will have spent limited time together before the series opener in Lahore on Thursday.

"I think one of the things about our group and most international teams is that preparation can look different for every tour," Marsh told the media ahead of their opening match.

"The majority of the group have been preparing in Dubai, other guys have been preparing by playing games throughout the Big Bash. We're ready to go, and we're looking forward to a great series," he added.

The Aussies are wary of Pakistan's fast-bowling stocks and the challenges of being the travelling team.

"We have great respect for them and look forward to the challenge of playing them here," he continued.

"Winning away from home is always hard, and especially in conditions like this that can be foreign to us, so we're just really excited about the opportunity. We know that Pakistan have got some amazing cricketers, obviously Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, but we know that in these conditions, it's going to be a really good challenge and that's one that we're looking forward to."

"Pakistan has a great history of fast bowlers. No doubt we'll be looking forward to that challenge, especially obviously (Afridi). He's an amazing bowler, and it's going to be a great challenge for our group."

The ICC Men's T20 World Cup is both in the background and on the front of mind for both Australia and Pakistan, with the tournament in India and Sri Lanka kicking off on February 7.

The Aussies are hoping to climb back to the top of the T20I summit after winning the 2021 edition, only to fall short in 2022 and again in 2024, with India the defending champions.

Australia still have five key players - Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Tim David, Nathan Ellis and Glenn Maxwell - rebuilding from respective fitness issues and will only join the squad in the sub-continent after the Pakistan tour, on the eve of the T20WC.

"This tour is really important for our World Cup preparations, and we have got some guys that weren't quite ready to be here, they're back at home training and preparing to meet us in Sri Lanka, so no stress there from our end," said Marsh.

- ANI