New Delhi [India], May 23 (ANI): Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson sees the upcoming ODI series against Australia at home as an apt opportunity to test the players' mettle ahead of next year's ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2026.

The three-match ODI series between Pakistan and Australia is scheduled from May 30 to June 4 in Rawalpindi and Lahore. Pakistan announced a 16-member squad on Friday. Set to be led by pacer Shaheen Afridi, the squad sees the return of key players, including Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan, and Sufyan Moqim, who had missed the ODI series against Bangladesh in March. Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas and Rohail Nazir are the three uncapped players in the squad.

Notably, Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub are still recovering from injuries and were not included in the squad.

Mike Hesson said the ODI series will be a strong test, noting that Australia will be highly motivated, have a strong squad, and are particularly strong in the ODI format compared to T20 cricket.

'They'll be exposed to an Australian side who'll be hurting from their performance over here last time. Their squad looks strong and they'll be coming over here. ODI cricket is probably one of their stronger formats at the moment. That group is certainly probably better than their T20 at the moment,' he said as quoted by the ICC website.

Hesson said Pakistan's ODI setup is still a work in progress, stressing the need to expand the player pool and develop key areas to ensure the team has its best possible squad ready for the World Cup in the next year and a half.

'Look, I think with one day cricket with the World Cup in mind, in a year and a half, you know, we have to widen the group. So rather than the same players always being selected, the ODI squad is a work in progress. And there's a number of areas we need to develop. And we need to make sure come the World Cup in a year and a half that we've actually got the best squad,' said Mike Hesson.

Mike Hesson said there needs to be patience with the young players in the squad, as not everyone can immediately perform at the international level, and their development is the main focus.

'With several youngsters included in the squad, the head coach urged patience and stressed that development remains the primary objective as these players take their first steps in international cricket. I guess there needs to be a little bit of patience with some of these younger players because, sure, it would be great if they come in straight away and perform, but reality in international cricket is not everybody can do that,' he said.

Pakistan squad for Australia ODIs: Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Salman Ali Agha, Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Maaz Sadaqat, Ghazi Ghori, Naseem Shah, Rohail Nazir, Sahibzada Farhan, Shadab Khan, Shamyl Hussain and Sufyan Moqim.

Australia tour of Pakistan schedule:

First ODI: May 30, Rawalpindi

Second ODI: June 2, Lahore

Third ODI: June 4, Lahore. (ANI)