Pakistan will face South Africa in the first of the three-match T20I series. This article provides details of Pakistan’s Game 11 against South Africa for the first match of the series.
Pakistan Plays XI vs South Africa – 1st T20I, South Africa Tour of Pakistan 2025:
Opening: Sahibzada Farhan, Usman Khan (week)
Pakistan would like to get off to a good start in the three-match T20I series against South Africa after losing the second Test against the same opposition in Rawalpindi, the venue which will also host the first T20I.
The home team was strengthened by the return of former captain Babar Azam, who has not been part of Pakistan’s T20I line-up for some time.
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Another major change in the T20I squad is the absence of senior batter Fakhar Zaman, who although is not part of the squad for this particular series, finds his name in the reserve players’ list.
The men in green are expected to open their innings with Sahibzada Farhan and Usman Khan, the batter who was part of the team during the 2024 T20 World Cup, and would want to put up a strong performance in the series opener against South Africa.
Usman’s opening partner Sahibzada Farhan, who has shown good form in the Asia Cup, would also like to continue his good run in this format
Middle-order batsmen and all-rounders: Babar Azam, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (c), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz
The opening pair will be followed by an intermediate team which is more or less the same as that present in the Asian Cup, with a few changes, one of the most notable being the exclusion of Mohammad Haris.
Their middle order has three experienced players: Babar Azam, captain Salman Ali Agha and Mohammad Nawaz, all of whom will have to take responsibility and guide the team to a winning total while batting first.
Alongside the trio, talented players like Hasan Nawaz and Saim Ayub will also be roped in by the management to make significant contributions.
It would be interesting to see what the Men in Green decide to do in the first T20I as they have preferred depth in the batting department in the recent past.
Bowlers: Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Abrar Ahmed, Salman Mirza
The hosts could face five real bowlers instead of all-rounders in the first T20I against South Africa.
A few names who are likely to feature in Pakistan’s bowling line-up for the series opener include new ODI captain Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Nawaz.
Besides the two, we might see Mohammad Waseem Jnr and Salman Miraz as the second and third fast bowlers who will assist Shaheen Afridi.
As for the spin bowling department, it will include Abrar Ahmed as the second spinner, along with Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha, also arm rolling when necessary.
