Lahore, Jan 29 Australian captain Mitchell Marsh is confident of the team's strength, saying the short gap between the Big Bash League (BBL) Final and the Pakistan T20I series, starting on Thursday on Lahore, will not affect their chances.
Marsh, along with seven other players in the Australian squad played in the final of the BBL on Sunday and reached Lahore 24 hours before the series opener, but according to the skipper, it will be the last thing to focus on before the tri-series, which is crucial for preparation ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, commences on February 7.
"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.
Australia's captain also spoke about missing the five key players, who include Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Tim David, Nathan Ellis and Glenn Maxwell, who will miss this series as they are rebuilding from respective fitness issues. He also confirmed that all of them will join the team in Sri Lanka, where they will play their first T20 WC match.
"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.
The 34-year-old also praised Pakistan's fast bowling and players like Shaheen Afridi and Babar Azam, who can make an impact.
"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 has got some amazing cricketers, obviously Babar Azam, Shaheen, 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," he said.
"Pakistan has a great history of fast bowlers. No doubt we'll be looking forward to that challenge, especially obviously. He's an amazing bowler, and it's going to be a great challenge for our group," he added.
Australia will play its first match in the World Cup on February 11 in Colombo.
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