Pakistan, South Africa set to lock horns in all-format series

• Babar, Naseem and Shaheen return to T20I squad. 
• Rizwan believes pacers will benefit from conditions.
• Pakistan won last two T20I series against South Africa. 

DURBAN: Pakistan and South Africa are all set to face each other in an all-format series for the first time since 2019, which will begin with the first of three T20Is on Tuesday at the Kingsmead Stadium in Durban.

The second and third T20Is are scheduled to take place on December 13 and 14 at the SuperSport Park, Centurion and The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, respectively.

The three ODIs will take place on December 17, 19 and 22 followed by the Centurion Test on December 26 and Cape Town Test on January 3.

The white-ball squad, captained by Mohammad Rizwan, reached Durban on Friday and has taken part in two training sessions, stated a press released issued on Monday.  

Pakistan’s T20I squad, which was announced on December 4, has seen the return of star batter Babar Azam, pacer Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi, who missed the recently-concluded Zimbabwe series.

The squad also includes left-arm wrist spinner Sufiyan Muqeem, who took five wickets for just three runs in the second T20 international against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.

In a statement, Rizwan said: "We have been on the road since last month and this is our third successive overseas tour, which has made the unit more proactive in terms of the preparations and getting used to the local conditions as soon as possible."

“The return of Babar, Naseem and Shaheen to the white-ball squads is a welcome development for the team and with a fine blend of youth and experience, we look forward to do our best against South Africa in this T20I series before the focus shifts to the other two formats," he added.

Speaking of the South African conditions, the skipper said, the wickets would challenge the team but at the same time, the pacers would benefit from the conditions. “We are eager to continue the winning momentum from the last tour against Zimbabwe."

Pakistan are coming off a white-ball tour of Zimbabwe, where they won both the one-day and T20 series. Before that, they were in Australia where they lost all three T20 matches but won a one-day series 2-1.

Meanwhile, South Africa's Test team were on the field against Sri Lanka in Gqeberha, and a separate group of players were in Pretoria preparing for the T20 series.

The T20 squad, captained by Heinrich Klaasen, flew to Durban on Sunday where the first T20 international will be played on Tuesday — the day after South Africa wrapped up a Test win in Gqeberha.

Only Ryan Rickelton of the current South African Test team is due to play in the T20 series — although regular white-ball captain Aiden Markram as well as Tristan Stubbs, Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen would all be likely choices in a full-strength team.

South African white-ball coach Rob Walter has called up fast bowler Anrich Nortje and left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi for the T20 series.

Nortje and Shamsi were South Africa's leading bowlers at the T20 World Cup, helping the team reach the final. But they have opted out of national contracts in order to play in franchise tournaments around the world.

Despite their successful World Cup campaign, Walter is under pressure because of South Africa's poor record in bilateral series — they have lost five and drawn two of seven series — but he has seldom been able to field a full-strength team.

Pakistan have won the last two bilateral T20I series between both nations, beating South Africa at home in February 2021 by 2-1 and then in their backyard by 3-1 in April 2021.

Pakistan T20I squad: Mohammad Rizwan (captain & wk), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousuf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan (wk)

South Africa T20I squad: Heinrich Klaasen (captain), Ottneil Baartman, Matthew Breetzke, Donovan Ferreira, Reeza Hendricks, Patrick Kruger, George Linde, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Nqaba Peter, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Andile Simelane, Rassie van der Dussen

Pakistan's tour of South Africa schedule:

10 Dec – First T20I, Durban

13 Dec – Second T20I, Centurion

14 Dec – Third T20I, Johannesburg

17 Dec – First ODI, Paarl

19 Dec – Second ODI, Cape Town

22 Dec – Third ODI, Johannesburg

26-30 Dec – First Test, Centurion

3-7 Jan – Second Test, Cape Town

— With additional input from AFP