The selection committee of the national cricket team has announced the squads for the tour of South Africa. The tour will consist of three T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests.
Babar Azam has been included in all three squads along with Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha, while Naseem Shah has been selected for Tests and ODIs.
Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was ruled out of the last two Tests against England, has been selected for the white-ball matches as part of his workload management so that he can be at his best fitness and form for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Fast bowler Mohammad Abbas also returns to the Test team, who last played in Jamaica in August 2021. Abbas, who took 90 wickets in 25 Tests, performed brilliantly in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, taking 31 wickets in five matches.
Naseem Shah has also been included in the four-man fast bowler squad after missing the last two Tests against England. The 21-year-old spinner, who has played 19 Tests since making his debut in November 2019, has so far taken 4 wickets for Lahore Whites against Peshawar in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match in Abbottabad.
The most eye-catching spinner from the selectors in ODIs for the first time is Sufyan Muqeem, who has taken eight wickets in two T20Is, including five for three in the second T20I.
After the third T20I against Zimbabwe, the national T20I team will leave for South Africa on Friday, December 6, while the ODI and Test players will leave for Johannesburg on December 13. Pakistan cricket team head coach Jason Gillespie will also arrive in Johannesburg on December 13, where he will oversee the pre-Test series camp.
The Test squad for the tour of South Africa includes Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haseebullah (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Muhammad Abbas, Muhammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha.
The ODI squad includes Muhammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), 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.
The T20 squad includes Muhammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), 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 (wicketkeeper).
