Match Setup ⁤and Toss Result

Pakistan won ‍the toss and elected to bowl first ​against South‌ Africa in the opening match of thier T20 International⁤ series, played at the ⁣Rawalpindi Stadium.⁤ ⁢Pakistan captain Salman Agha announced the ⁢return of Babar Azam ⁢ to the⁣ T20I squad for the first time since December 2024, a decision met with eager applause from the home crowd‍ ESPNcricinfo.

Pakistan’s ‌Strategy and Team Composition

Opting for ⁤batting depth over​ a specialist bowling attack on a traditionally high-scoring pitch – similar to those seen during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) – Pakistan has included multiple all-round options. Naseem Shah ‍returns to​ the T20 side alongside shaheen Shah Afridi as the pace attack. Abrar⁢ Ahmed is ⁢the team’s sole specialist spinner,supported by the all-round capabilities of Mohammad Nawaz, faheem Ashraf, and Saim ​Ayub.

Pakistan XI: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Salman Agha (capt), ⁤usman Khan (wk), ⁣Hasan ‌Nawaz, Mohammad ⁢nawaz,⁤ Faheem‍ Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi,⁢ Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed.

South Africa’s Approach‌ and Squad

South‍ Africa captain Donovan Ferreira stated he would also have chosen to bowl first had he won the toss. The Proteas, fielding an inexperienced squad, are boosted ⁤by the return of Quinton de Kock. They have selected ⁢a ​bowling attack featuring four seamers and one spinner. ⁣ Lhuan-dré‌ pretorius is unavailable for this match due to illness ESPNcricinfo.

South Africa XI: ​Quinton de Kock (wk), Hendricks, zorzi, Matthew Bretzke, George ⁤Linde, Corbin Bosch, Williams, William, Burger, Burger.