Pakistan vs South Africa: Pakistan announce 17-member squad for the first Test

The Pakistan cricket board have recently announced a 17-member squad for the first test match against South Africa. Pakistan will recommence their World Test Championship campaign with a 2-match Test series at home against the Proteas team. The first Test will start on January 26 at the National Stadium in Karachi.

Kamran Ghulam, Salman Ali Agha and Abdullah Shafique are the players that have been excluded from the initial selection. These players were a part of the training camp in the lead-up to the Test series.

Pakistan name six uncapped players in the squad

The selectors have decided to rope in six uncapped players. This includes opening batsman Imran Butt, middle-order batsman Saud Shakeel, spinners Nauman Ali and Sajid Khan, and fast bowlers Haris Rauf and Tabish Khan.

This will be the first time in 16 years the South African cricket team are touring the nation. Talking about the WTC, South Africa still has a chance of making it to the finals whereas Pakistan is already ruled out from the top-two race. They won’t be able to make it even if they win all their remaining fixtures.

After completing the second Test match in Rawalpindi from February 4-8, both teams will compete in three T20 Internationals in Lahore on February 11, 13 and 14. The last time these two countries met, South Africa defeated Pakistan 1-0 in a two-match Test series. The Proteas team is now the fourth nation to visit Pakistan in the last 15 months after Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

Pakistan Squad

Babar Azam (C), Imran Butt, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Faheem Ashraf, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Nauman Ali, Tabish Khan, Yasir Shah, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Sajid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi.

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