Pakistan Faces South Africa With Tough Conditions Ahead, Says Rizwan

DURBAN, South Africa: Pakistan’s T20 captain Muhammad Rizwan has said that the wickets in South Africa will pose a challenge for his team, adding the pacers will benefit from the conditions.

His remarks come as Pakistan is set to face South Africa in an all-format series for the first time since 2019, starting with the first of three T20Is on Tuesday at Kingsmead Stadium in Durban.

“The wickets in South Africa will challenge us but at the same time our pacers will benefit from the conditions as well. With the help of Allah, we are eager to continue the winning momentum from the last tour against Zimbabwe,” the skipper said.

He said that 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.

Mohammad Rizwan said that they have been on the road since last month and this is their 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.

He added that they look forward to do their best against South Africa in this T20I series before the focus shifts to the other two formats.

Pakistan’s T20I squad reached Durban on Friday and has taken part in two training sessions.

The second and third T20Is are scheduled to take place on 13 and 14 December at the SuperSport Park, Centurion and The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, respectively, according to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Preps in line 🔛

Pakistan team trains for the South Africa T20I series 🏏#SAvPAK | #BackTheBoysInGreen pic.twitter.com/dMegWOvmnJ

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) December 9, 2024

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

Pakistan’s T20I squad, which was announced on 4 December, has seen the return of regular white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan, who was rested during the Zimbabwe T20I series.

Babar Azam, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi have also returned to the T20I squad after missing the Zimbabwe series.

Pak vs SA T20I

Pakistan have won the last two bilateral T20I series between the 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).