Travis Head comes into this series on the back of a fine summer, which saw him finish as the leading runscorer in Australia’s 4-0 Ashes victory.
He made 152 in Brisbane and 101 in Hobart, scoring 357 runs at 59.50.
But he’s yet to shine in a Test outside of Australia, admittedly from limited opportunities, given Australia hasn’t played overseas since the 2019 Ashes.
Head averages 28.45 in six Tests overseas, a figure he’ll be hoping is significantly higher by the end of this series.
“A lot of players and media talk about the improvement that’s been made,” former captain Ian Chappell said on Outside the Rope.
“Improvement could be there, but I’m dubious about it.
“I need to see a lot more of Head under different conditions to be convinced that he’s made some changes and there’s some big improvements there.”
Chappell acknowledged Head’s excellent series against England, but said he needs to back that up against Pakistan.
“Head will always be the sort of player that has the odd bit of success, and when he plays well he will score very quickly, and he’ll be very handy to the Australian side.
“Every batsman’s got a hole somewhere, but Head to me has got about four or five weaknesses, and as a Test player you shouldn’t have that many.”
