Green Shirts are scheduled to play three T20Is and ODIs each, followed up by two Tests
\n LAHORE
\nThe Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday announced the Green Shirts\u2019 squads for all three formats for the upcoming South Africa tour commencing on December 10.
\nThe national side is set to play three T20Is, followed by the same number of ODIs during their tour which will culminate on January 7 with two Test matches.
\nShan Masood will be leading the red-ball team whereas Mohammad Rizwan will captain the side in the ODIs and T20Is.
\nThe Men in Green will be heading to South Africa after a 2-1 ODI series win against Zimbabwe followed by securing an unassailable 2-0 lead against them in the T20I series on Tuesday.
\nBefore that, the national side secured an historic 2-1 ODI series win against Australia in their backyard to mark their first 50-over series win in the Kangaroos\u2019 home ground in 22 years.
\nHowever, the hosts then whitewashed Pakistan in the subsequent T20I series.
\nThe upcoming South Africa tour will provide the team with valuable match practice allowing them to fine-tune the combinations and finalise the preparations ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025 set to be held in Pakistan next year.
\nBabar Azam has been named in all three squads along with Rizwan, Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha, while Naseem Shah has been selected for the Tests and ODIs.
\nShaheen Shah Afridi, who also missed the last two Tests against England, has been picked for the white-ball matches as part of his workload management so that he is in his best fitness and form for the Champions Trophy.
\nAlso returning to the Test side is fast bowler Mohammad Abbas, who last played in Jamaica in August 2021. Abbas, who has taken 90 wickets in 25 Tests, had a stellar Quaid-i-Azam Trophy, claiming 31 wickets in five matches
\nAlso earning the selectors\u2019 nod for the first time in ODIs is Sufyan Moqim, the left-arm wrist spinner who has taken eight wickets in two T20Is, including five wickets for three runs in the second T20I.
\nFast bowler Khurram Shahzad has also been named in the Test side after claiming 15 wickets for Pakistan Shaheens against Sri Lanka \u201cA\u201d last month.
\nMir Hamza is the fourth fast bowler in the 15-man Test squad and is presently playing for Peshawar against Lahore Whites in Abbottabad.
\nFurthermore, the selectors have decided to go with one specialist spinner Noman Ali \u2014 who took 20 wickets against England \u2014 in light of the conditions at Centurion and Newlands and have left out Sajid Khan despite his 19-wicket tally against England.
\nThe T20I squad will depart for South Africa on December 6 after Thursday\u2019s third T20I against Zimbabwe, while the ODI and Test players will depart for Johannesburg on December 13.
\nRed-ball head coach Jason Gillespie will also arrive in Johannesburg on December 13 to supervise the pre-Test series camp.
\nSpeaking on the squads, interim white-ball head coach Aqib Javed said: \u201cWe have adopted a horses-for-courses policy to ensure all three squads are well-balanced and capable of performing strongly in South Africa\u201d.
\n\u201cOur focus in ODIs is to continue building momentum ahead of the Champions Trophy, while the T20I series provides a platform to blend experience with emerging talent,\u201d he remarked.
\nSpeaking on Shaheen\u2019s exclusion from the Test side, the former cricketer termed the decision as a \u201cstrategic\u201d move to ensure that the pacer remained physically and mentally fresh for the Champions Trophy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Green Shirts are scheduled to play three T20Is and ODIs each, followed up by two Tests LAHORE The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday announced the Green Shirts\u2019 squads for all three formats for the upcoming South Africa tour commencing on December 10. The national side is set to play three T20Is, followed by the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":447512,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-447480","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n