PAARL: Pakistan’s white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan said that the upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa would be crucial for his side in fine-tuning their preparations for the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy, slated to be held in the February-March window next year.
The green shirts had a disappointing start to their all-format South Africa tour as they suffered a 2-0 defeat in the recently-concluded T20I series.
But, Pakistan captain Rizwan, who led the green shirts to their first away series victory over Australia since 2002 in his first assignment, expressed confidence in his team’s ability to not only challenge but defeating South Africa in the upcoming series.
“This is a vital ODI series in terms of our preparations for the ICC Champions Trophy and with Allah’s help we will look to emulate our performances from the ODI series against Australia.
“We couldn’t get the ideal results in the T20I series but I am really happy with some of the performances put in by our players in these conditions especially Saim’s batting was brilliant in both games. Our batting, pace and spin stocks are decent enough to challenge South Africa and win the series with the help of almighty.
“I see a lot of potential in our ODI squad with players young and experienced both willing to put the best step forward, which makes us an exciting prospect as a one-day side not just going into this series but also in the home tri-nation series and the blockbuster white-ball mega event at home.”
The first ODI between Pakistan and South Africa is scheduled to be played on Tuesday at the the Boland Park here, while the second and third ODIs will take place on December 17 and 22 at the Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town and The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg on 17 and 19 December, respectively.
Pakistan ODI squad: Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan (wk).
South Africa ODI squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Aiden Markram, Andile Phehlukwayo, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, Marco Jansen, Ottneil Baartman, Rassie van der Dussen, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tony de Zorzi, and Tristan Stubbs.
- Mohammad Rizwan
