Pakistani squad announced for South Africa tour

Lahore: Pakistan’s men’s selection committee has announced the white and red ball squads for the tour of South Africa from December 10 to January 7.

The tour of South Africa includes three T20Is, three ODIs and two Test matches. The series will start with the first T20I in Durban on December 10, the first ODI will be held in Paarl on December 17, and the Test matches will begin on December 26 and January 3 in Centurion and Cape Town respectively.

Babar Azam has been included in all three formats along with Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha, while Naseem Shah has been selected for Tests and ODIs.

Shaheen Shah Afridi has been selected for the white-ball matches as part of his workload management to ensure he is at his best fitness and form for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Returning to the Test team is fast bowler Mohammad Abbas, who last played in August 2021. Abbas took 90 wickets in 25 Tests and 31 wickets in the five matches of the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

Naseem Shah has also been included in the four-man pace attack after missing the last two Tests against England. The 21-year-old, who has played 19 Tests since making his debut in November 2019, so far took four wickets for Lahore Whites against Peshawar in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match in Abbottabad.

Fast bowler Khurram Shahzad, who took 15 wickets for Pakistan Shaheens against Sri Lanka A last month, has also been included in the Test team, while Mir Hamza is the fourth fast bowler in the 15-member Test squad and is currently representing Peshawar against Lahore Whites in Abbottabad.

Off-spinner Sajid Khan, who took 19 wickets in the Test series against England, is not part of the team. The selectors, keeping in mind the conditions at Centurion and Newlands, as well as South Africa as a competitor, have chosen only one specialist spinner, Noman Ali, who took 20 wickets in the Test series against England and has taken 67 wickets in 17 Tests.

Left-arm wrist spinner Sufyan Muqim has managed to earn the selectors' trust for the first time in ODIs, taking eight wickets in two T20Is against Zimbabwe, including a 5-3 performance in the second match.

The T20 squad will leave for South Africa on Friday, December 6, after the third T20I against Zimbabwe on Thursday, while the ODI and Test players will leave for Johannesburg on December 13. Pakistan's red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie will also arrive in Johannesburg on December 13 to oversee the pre-Test series camp.

Pakistan squad for South Africa tour

Test squad

Shaan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel (vc), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haseebullah (wk), Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Muhammad Abbas, Muhammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha.

One-day squad

Muhammad Rizwan (c and wk), Abdullah Shafiq, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Kamran Ghulam, Muhammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Muqim, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan (wk).

T20 squad

Muhammad Rizwan (c and wk), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Jehandad Khan, Muhammad Abbas Afridi, Muhammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Umair Bin Yousuf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Muqeem Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan (wk).