Pak players loading luggage by themselves at Sydney airport; Afridi reacts
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After their disappointing ODI World Cup performance, the Pakistan cricket team, which has undergone significant changes from administrative level to captaincy across formats, has arrived in Australia for a crucial Test series.
The matches will be played between December 14 and January 7. To acclimate to the conditions in Australia, the team led by Shan Masood arrived in Sydney over a week in advance, planning to engage in a practice game.
Pakistan will be aiming to retain their top position in the World Test Championship cycle, while Australia currently holds the fourth position.
A picture of the Pakistani players, where the cricketers were seen loading their luggage onto a container truck at the Sydney airport, recently went viral on social media.
Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi told the media on Sunday that with the team scheduled to catch their next flight in about 30 minutes, they were only helping each other out to save time.
"We only had 30 minutes to catch our next flight and we helped because there were just two people. We wanted to wrap it up fast and to save time," said Shaheen ahead of Pakistan's first practice session in Canberra on Sunday. "We call this team a family and helped them as a family."
Pakistan has never won a Test series victory in Australia, with their closest attempt occurring in 1979 in a two-match contest that ultimately ended in a draw. Additionally, the last instance of Pakistan winning a Test match in Australia was in 1995. Since then, the Asian side has lost 14 matches in a row.
“We have played against the recently announced Australia's 14-member squad, and we are all up for this challenge," Shaheen affirmed.
"We don't have much experience of Canberra, but I am sure this four-day match against PM XI will help us prepare well for the series against the home team starting from Perth," he explained.
