The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Wednesday that speedster Shaheen Afridi has been left out of Pakistan’s team for a two-test series in South Africa in an effort to keep him healthy for the Champions Trophy at home the following year.
But according to a statement from the PCB, the left-arm quick has been selected for six limited-overs games in South Africa starting on December 10.
In order to manage his workload and be in peak form for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Shaheen Afridi, who also missed the last two tests against England, was selected for the white-ball matches, according to the statement.
Babar Azam, a batting staple, and fellow fast bowler Naseem Shah were called up for the test matches in Centurion and Cape Town after missing the previous two games against England.
The ODI and Test players will leave for Johannesburg on December 13, while the T20I team will leave for South Africa on Friday following Thursday’s third T20I match against Zimbabwe.
Jason Gillespie, the head coach of the Pakistan men’s red-ball team, will also travel to Johannesburg on December 13 to oversee the pre-Test series training.
The series will start with the first Twenty20 International in Durban on Tuesday, December 10, and the first One-Day International in Paarl on December 17. On December 26 and January 3, respectively, Centurion and Cape Town will host the Test matches.
Sajid Khan, an offspinner who helped Pakistan defeat England 2-1 in the October series with 19 wickets in two tests, was benched.
“It was a very tough and difficult decision to leave out Sajid Khan, despite his outstanding performances against England,” stated selector and interim test squad coach Aqib Javed.
But given the pace-friendly circumstances in Cape Town and Centurion, we decided to go with Mohammad Abbas, a superb example of seam bowling.
Pakistani teams: Testers: Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Haseebullah (wicketkeeper), Saud Shakeel, Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, and Babar Azam
ODI: Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Muhammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Afridi, Sufyan Moqim, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Kamran Ghulam, and Muhammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper).
T20I: Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Omair Bin Yousuf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Afridi, Sufyan Moqim, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Jahandad Khan, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Muhammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Muhammad Irfan Khan, and Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper).
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