Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and elected to bat first in the series-opening test against Australia in Dubai on Sunday.

Pakistan handed a debut to 33-year-old offspinner Bilal Asif, with young legspinner Shadab Khan missing the match through injury.

Tim Paine's Australia feature three debutants, with one-day international specialist Aaron Finch to open the batting with Usman Khawaja, and South Australia captain Travis Head slotting into the middle order for his first test.

Marnus Labuschagne, the third debutant, will bat at sixth in the order.

Teams:

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Babar Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Yasir Shah, Bilal Asif, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Abbas

Australia: Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Tim Paine (captain), Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle, Jon Holland, Nathan Lyon

(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne Editing by Amlan Charaborty) ((ian.ransom@thomsonreuters.com; +61 3 9286 1447; Reuters Messaging: ian.ransom.reuters.com@reuters.net;))