Not intimidated by South Africa's home record: Rizwan

With the Pakistan team set to take on South Africa in the first T20I, captain Mohammad Rizwan has said that the Green Shirts were not intimidated by the Proteas' home record and in fact were looking ahead to a successful series.

Speaking to the media outside the Kingsmead cricket stadium, Durban, Rizwan acknowledged that the conditions do pose a challenge in an away series as the pitch and weather are totally alien from the home surfaces.

However, he noted that the national side would not rest on their past laurels against the Proteas, adding that the team will focus on the current challenge.

His remarks come as the Men in Green will commence their South Africa tour today featuring a three-match T20I series which will be followed up by an ODI series with the same number of matches.

The tour will come to an end with two Tests, the latter of which will culminate on January 7.

The much-anticipated series promises thrilling encounters as Pakistan hope to repeat the performance they had put up in 2021 by winning the series 3-1, The News reported on Tuesday.

After a 1-1 draw at the end of the first two T20Is played at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, the tourists snatched wins in the next two played at Centurion to take the series 3-1.

South Africa though has never been a favourite hunting ground for Pakistan yet the last time they were there, they snatched even the ODI series 2-1 courtesy of some spectacular performance by Fakhar Zaman. His services, however, will be missed this time as he was declared unfit and not ready to play the international series.

Pakistan’s T20 squad sees the return of key players including white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan, rested during the Zimbabwe T20I series.

Babar, Naseem Shah, and Shaheen Shah Afridi are also back in action, adding depth and experience to the side.

Expressing his views on the series, Rizwan underscored the need to perform and said: "As professional players, we must acclimatise [with conditions] quickly and perform well".

On opportunities to the young players, the wicket-keeper batter said the young talent has performed well in Australia and Zimbabwe and they have proven their mettle, adding that they have added to the bench strength of the Men’s team.

Addressing the issue of team combination, the skipper noted that the team had done well in the recently concluded white-ball series in Australia and Zimbabwe, adding that the bunch of players had proved their talent and helped in good team combinations.

"The young players have gelled well with the senior cricketers and are learning from the experience of the senior teammates," he remarked.

Speaking on the team selection, he said that the side was selected keeping in view the conditions in South Africa and that the selectors would definitely pick, a somewhat, different bunch of players for the Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan and the Men's T20 World Cup 2026 in India.

When asked about the non-selection of Fakhar, Rizwan said that the left-handed batter was a game-changer and the whole country was aware of his capabilities.

He further clarified that Fakhar's absence from the squads for the South Africa tour did not involve any ill will and maintained that the batter was not picked due to minor health issues and that he had been asked to perform in the ongoing domestic T20 tournament under the constant care of the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) medical panel.

T20I squads

Pakistan: 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: 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

Tour schedule

December 10 — First T20I, Durban

December 13 — Second T20I, Centurion

December 14 — Third T20I, Johannesburg

December 17 — First ODI, Paarl

December 19 — Second ODI, Cape Town

December 22 — Third ODI, Johannesburg

December 26-30 — First Test, Centurion

January 3-7 — Second Test, Cape Town