Aaron Finch, Travis Head & 3 others get maiden Test call-up for Pakistan series

Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Michael Neser, Brendan Doggett and Marnus Labuschagne are the 5 uncapped players who have received their maiden call-ups

Marking the beginning of a fresh Test era, the Cricket Australia has named 5 uncapped players in the 15-member squad for a 2-match series against Pakistan beginning from October 7 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

After the scandal-plagued South African tour which resulted in the dramatic ousting of Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, the Aussies are all set to move forward with a revised bunch under their 46^th skipper, Tim Paine.

Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Michael Neser, Brendan Doggett and Marnus Labuschagne are the 5 uncapped players who have received their maiden call-ups.

In addition, batsman Usman Khwaja has returned to the side along with star pacer Mitchell Starc. On the other hand, Shaun Marsh was declared fit after recovering from a shoulder injury that forced him to return home in July from a county cricket stint with Glamorgan.

Here’s the squad:

BREAKING NEWS:

Australia Test squad for #PAKvAUS: Tim Paine (c), Ashton Agar, Brendan Doggett, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Michael Neser, Matt Renshaw, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc.

— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) September 11, 2018

Also missing for their two-Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates next month are injured fast bowlers, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, leaving Australia with one of its weakest Test squads in years.

Peter Handscomb missed out after poor form on current Australia A tour of India, and there was no room for batting all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, despite also offering a handy off-spin option.