As the Pakistan team prepares to take on South Africa in the first T20I, captain Mohammad Rizwan said the Green Shirts were not intimidated by the Proteas’ home record and were actually looking forward to a successful series.
Speaking to the media outside the Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban, Rizwan admitted that conditions are a challenge in away matches as the pitch and weather are completely different to pitch surfaces.
However, he noted that the national team will not rest on past glories against the Proteas, adding that the team will focus on the current challenge.
His comments come as the Men in Green begin their tour of South Africa today which includes a three-match T20I series which will be followed by an ODI series with the same number of matches.
The tour will end with two Tests, the latter culminating on 7 January.
The much-awaited series promises exciting encounters as Pakistan hopes to repeat the performance it showed in 2021 by winning the series 3-1, News reported on Tuesday.
After a 1-1 draw at the end of the first two T20Is played at Wanderers in Johannesburg, the tourists clinched victories in the next two matches played at Centurion to take the series 3-1.
Although South Africa has never been a favorite hunting ground for Pakistan, the last time they were there, they even clinched the ODI series 2-1 thanks to some stunning performances by Fakhar Zaman. But his services will be wasted this time as he has been declared unfit and not ready to play the international series.
Pakistan’s T20 team sees the return of key players including white-ball skipper Mohammad Rizwan, who was rested during the Zimbabwe T20I series.
Babar, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi also returned to action, adding depth and experience to the team.
Expressing his views on the series, Radwan emphasized the necessity of performance and said: “As professional players, we must adapt (to the circumstances) quickly and perform well.”
Regarding the opportunities available to the young players, the wicketkeeper-batsman said the young talents performed well in Australia and Zimbabwe and proved their mettle, adding that they added to the strength of the bench in the men’s team.
Speaking on the issue of team composition, the skipper noted that the team performed well in the recently concluded white-ball series in Australia and Zimbabwe, adding that the group of players proved their talent and helped form good combinations.
“The young players have adapted well to the senior cricketers and are learning from the experience of their senior teammates,” he noted.
Speaking about the team selection, he said that the team has been selected keeping in mind the conditions in South Africa and that the selectors will certainly choose a somewhat different set of players for the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup in India.
When asked about not selecting Fakhar, Rizwan said that the left-handed batsman changed the rules of the game and that the entire country was aware of his abilities.
He further clarified that Fakhar’s absence from the South Africa tour squad did not involve any ill will and asserted that the batsman was not selected due to minor health issues and that he was asked to perform in the ongoing domestic T20 tournament under the constant patronage of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Medical Board.
T20I teams
Pakistan: Muhammad Rizwan (Team Captain), 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 Muqim, Tayyab. Tahir and Usman Khan (week)
South Africa: Heinrich Klassen (captain), Otniel Bartmann, Matthew Bretzky, Donovan Ferreira, Reda Hendricks, Patrick Krüger, George Linde, Kwena Mafaka, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Nqaba Peter, Ryan Rickelton, Tabriz Shamsi, Andeel Simelane, Rassie van der Dussen.
Tour schedule
December 10 – 1st T20I, Durban
December 13 – 2nd T20I, Centurion
December 14 – 3rd T20I, Johannesburg
17 December – 1st ODI, Paarl
December 19 – 2nd ODI, Cape Town
December 22 – 3rd ODI, Johannesburg
December 26-30 – First Test, Centurion
January 3-7 – Second Test, Cape Town