Pakistan’s preparation towards next year’s T20 World Cup will continue on Tuesday when they take on South Africa in the first match of the three-match series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
The national team comes into the series after putting up a decent performance in its biggest test at the Asia Cup last month – beating every team it faced except world number one and arch-rival India, which handed them defeats in all three matches, including the final.
South Africa, on the other hand, arrive as a depleted team on paper – the presence of star batsman Quinton de Kock, present in a Twenty20 International for the first time since June 2024, standing out in a largely second-string team led by Donovan Ferreira, who has just nine T20Is to his name.
Therefore, Pakistan can be safely considered favorites to take the series trophy, which would help restore their damaged confidence after India’s triple thrashing.
The hosts have also not hesitated to strike a balance between experimentation and experience. Former captain Babar Azam has returned to the T20I ranks after a four-month absence, while Fakhar Zaman waits in the reserve.
“He is a world-class player,” Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said of Babar in the pre-series press conference on the eve of the match. “His presence always benefits the team. He has played more than a hundred T20s, led Pakistan many times and scored many goals. His experience will strengthen our batting line-up.”
Pacer Naseem Shah, who missed both the tri-nation series and the Asia Cup, is also set to return. Out-of-bounds bowler Usman Tariq and exciting middle-order batsman Abdul Samad have been recruited as part of Pakistan’s search for depth and flexibility ahead of next year’s top global competition.
Pakistan also dismissed Mohammad Haris, despite the team management previously backing the batsman before he fell out of favor to make way for Usman Khan. The decision has raised concerns about inconsistent selection.
“We were looking for a batsman who could play in the middle order, especially against spin,” Salman said, defending Usman’s inclusion. “Though his international record is not great yet, you must have seen in the PSL that he bats well against spin in the mid overs. We needed that kind of player who could keep wickets and handle spin in that phase.”
Pakistan has undergone a T20I revamp since the appointment of Mike Hesson as head coach of the white-ball team in June, with a greater emphasis on scoring rates under the New Zealander. Forcefulness has been the central theme of his approach in all 21 games under Hesson so far.
But with the strategy largely failing to achieve consistent results, there is a growing awareness that a more adaptive approach is needed.
“Given the kind of conditions we have been playing in, we need batsmen who can build the innings and rotate the strike, and then accelerate when required,” Salman said. “Intermediate hitting against spin is another key area. We need to improve the strike rotation there, and we’ve worked on that during our recent camp.”
The Rawalpindi pitch is expected to be a batting paradise, which could also allow South Africa to challenge Pakistan with big totals and put pressure on the hosts.
For the visitors, too, the series offers the opportunity to perfect their combination ahead of the T20 World Cup.
“It’s important to move towards the World Cup,” Ferreira said. “I think this is the big step for us towards the World Cup.”
Ferreira was named captain after veteran batsman David Miller was ruled out through injury. Gerald Coetzee and Kwena Maphaka have also missed out due to fitness issues, while the Proteas have rested regular T20I captain Aiden Markram, batsmen Tristan Stubbs and Ryan Rickelton, and spearhead Kagiso Rabada.
Squads:
Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan (wk), Usman Tariq; Reserves: Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Moqim.
South Africa: Donovan Ferreira (captain), Ottneil Baartman, Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Reeza Hendricks, George Linde, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Andile Simelane, Lizaad Williams.
