This is will be the first time Pakistan and South Africa will be contesting in a T20I series in Pakistan.
South Africa’s ongoing tour of Pakistan will move to the next phase when the two teams meet in a three-match T20I series. The first of those three matches will be played on February 11. After the win in the Test series, the hosts will start the T20Is as the favourites. Not just the momentum of winning the Test series, but the fact that the South Africans have come with a second-string side will also help the hosts’ cause.
The Proteas selectors decided to rest most of their senior members as they were expected to come home and prepare for the home Test series against Australia. However, with that series getting postponed, the decision of resting players like Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Kagiso Rabada, and others might seem a little absurd now. In the absence of the senior members of the side, Heinrich Klaasen has been handed over the responsibilities of leading the side.
As far as the hosts are concerned, they have too made a host of changes from the last T20I series. The appointment of a new chief selector has resulted in Pakistan giving a lot more attention to players who have done well in domestic cricket. Some notable absentees include Mohammad Hafeez, Fakhar Zaman, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan and Wahab Riaz.
