A barefooted Australian Test squad and their entire support staff have gotten their first glimpse of the pitch they'll play on in the first Test against Pakistan.

Under the guidance of new coach Justin Langer, a self-described "hippy", the Aussies removed their shoes upon arrival at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium late Friday morning (local time) and took a lap together to soak up the venue ahead of a light fielding session.

Australia have been in the United Arab Emirates' biggest city for two weeks but have trained exclusively at the nearby ICC Academy. This is their first visit to the ground that will host the series-opener from Sunday.

After the squad completed their brief spiritual walk of the stadium, the players and staff went to the middle to take a look at the pitch for the first Test.

A curator drove the heavy roller up and down the shimmering surface almost entirely bereft of grass which is showing few signs of wear and tear after the recent Asia Cup tournament.

While there's still a little more than 48 hours until the first ball is bowled, initial indications are that it's far from the minefield Australia encountered in Pune last year or in Dhaka a few months later.

The lack of any real greenery would suggest seam bowlers will gain little assistance, aside from reverse swing with the older ball.

The sight of Matthew Renshaw, who earlier batted in the nets at the ICC Academy, completing close-in fielding drills added further intrigue to his place in the team for the first Test.

Langer cast doubt on his match fitness for the first Test after he copped a powerful blow to the helmet while fielding at short leg during Australia's tour match.

Renshaw spent time during practice both at short leg and silly point, as did Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne, a specialist in that position.

Labuschagne looms as the man who will come in for Renshaw should selectors deem the latter to have not spent enough time in the middle.

The Dubai stadium is fresh off the recent Asia Cup one-day tournament, which saw it host eight games in less than two weeks.

Mitchell Starc played on Australia's last Test series in the UAE against Pakistan back in 2014 and expects the Dubai track to be similar.

"The square looks like it's got a lot less grass on it, obviously (due to) the Asia Cup," Starc said on Friday.

"It's still a couple of days out and there was a little bit of grass, albeit on the sides, not much down the middle.

"I don't think it'll be any different to something we saw last time we were here where they were quite flat early on and the game quickened up as the days went on.

Starc said he expects reverse swing to be an important weapon given the abrasive surface.

"The square is quite bare," he continued. "There's every chance that the ball will get scuffed up just from the wicket. Hopefully for the fast bowlers, reverse swing plays a bit of a part."

Spin is also expected to play a major part in the series with Pakistan featuring one of the world's best spinners in Yasir Shah, who has taken more wickets in Dubai than any other bowler since Pakistan begun playing home matches here.

But Langer has stressed Australia, who are expected to also pick left-arm tweaker Jon Holland, will be unfazed by turning tracks in the UAE, emphasising that they too possess a top-notch spinner.

"Nathan Lyon, he's a world-class bowler," Langer said on Tuesday.

"That's the positive for me; if it's a wicket that spins, we've got a couple of high-class spinners ourselves who can put pressure on the Pakistani batters."