Australia touring Pakistan after 24 yrs is an achievement for PCB: Wasim Akram

Karachi : Former Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram has said that Australia agreeing to tour Pakistan is a big achievement for the cricket board in the country.

Australia will tour Pakistan for three Tests, three ODIs and one T20I. The first Test will be played in Rawalpindi from March 4. "Australia coming to Pakistan after 24 years is an achievement for the Pakistan Cricket Board. This series will have a huge impact on our cricket as it will improve our players' approach and mindset. For the next generation of cricketers, this will be an opportunity to fall in love with this sport and get motivated to scale greater heights in their careers," said Akram on PCB Podcast.

"Australia's tour to Pakistan will send out a strong and powerful message that everything is fine and normal here. This is our third HBL PSL in Pakistan and I keep telling foreign players that this security has been put in place because we are too cautious and do not want to risk anything. The foreign players understand this argument and are happy to continue to visit and play here," he added.
On Tuesday, Australia named a full-strength squad for the Test series against Pakistan and the team will be led by Pat Cummins.

"Things have changed in Pakistan since 1998 and I think the pitches will be better, which will make Test cricket interesting viewing. I believe our cricket team will improve after playing Australia as the players will assess and understand their strengths and weakness, and will work on them and be better trained and prepared for the home Tests against England and New Zealand, which will be played in the last quarter of the year," said Akram.

Last week, Justin Langer had resigned as Australia coach and Andrew McDonald will be doing the duties of interim head coach.
Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (C), Steve Smith, David Warner, Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, Mitchell Swepson, Mitchell Starc