The first Test will be played in Perth's Optus Stadium from December 14 onwards.
The PCB, on December 13, 2023, announced that ace fast bowler Shaheen Afridi will be the Pakistan team vice-captain and deputy to captain Shan Masood for the upcoming three-Test series against Australia which begins on December 14 in Perth.
This three-Test series is part of the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. The second Test will be played in Melbourne from December 26 and the third Test in Sydney from January 3.
Shaheen has so far featured in 27 Tests, 53 ODIs, and 52 T20Is for Pakistan and has picked up 105, 104, and 64 wickets, respectively. Earlier, Shaheen was named the T20I captain of the Pakistan team, after Babar Azam stepped down as captain in all three formats after the ICC World Cup 2023 debacle.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) released an official statement to announce Shaheen as the vice-captain for the Test series.
"Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has been appointed vice-captain of the Pakistan Test Team for the series against Australia," a statement from PCB read.
In the absence of Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, he will spearhead the pace bowling attack and will be supported by Faheem Ashraf and debutants Khurram Shahzad and Aamir Jamal in the first Test. Pakistan have announced their XI for the Perth encounter.
Pakistan playing XI for 1st Test against Australia:
Imam-Ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (C), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Aamir Jamal, and Khurram Shahzad.
(ANI/PCB inputs)