LAHORE – Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has passed his fitness test and is ready to make his return to the national squad for the upcoming T20I series against Australia.
There is a strong possibility he will be included in the squad for the three-match home series.
Shaheen underwent a fitness test two days ago, with particular attention paid to his workload and long-term availability.
Medical experts and the team management carefully assessed all aspects, giving him a clean bill of health to return to cricket. The left-arm fast bowler is now available for national team selection and is expected to feature in the T20 series against Australia.
Afridi sustained an injury to his right knee during the Big Bash League while playing for Brisbane Heat on December 27. He experienced discomfort during the 14th over of a match against Adelaide Strikers, forcing him to leave the field. Following the injury, he was ruled out of the remaining matches of the tournament and returned to Pakistan.
Brisbane Heat had replaced him with Zaman Khan in their squad. The same injury also kept Afridi out of Pakistan’s recent T20 series against Sri Lanka.
PAK vs AUS Series Schedule
Pakistan will take on Australia in three T20Is on 29, 31 January and 1 February at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. All the three matches will begin at 6pm PKT.
Australia’s T20I squad is scheduled to arrive in Lahore on Wednesday, January 28. The coin toss for each of the three matches will take place at 5:30 PM PKT, with the first ball expected to be bowled at 6:00 PM PKT.
This series is an important opportunity for both teams to gain match practice ahead of the ICC Men’s T20I World Cup 2026, with Pakistan placed in Group A and Australia in Group B.
This will mark Australia’s third visit to Pakistan since their trip in March-April 2022, when they played a series of three Tests and ODIs, followed by a single T20I. They also played three of their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 matches in Pakistan.
In the one T20I match they played at Gaddafi Stadium on April 5, 2022, Australia narrowly defeated Pakistan by three wickets.
