Toss Pakistan chose to bowl first against South Africa
Pakistan have won the toss and elected to bowl first. In the first T20I at Rawalpindi Stadium, Salman Agha announced, to loud cheers from the local crowd, that Babar Azam was in the T20 XI for the first time since December 2024.
On a flat surface that has historically produced run-rich surfaces, especially in the PSL, Pakistan have gone with batting depth over specialist bowlers. Naseem Shah returns to the T20 side with Shaheen Shah Afridi his fast bowling partner. Abrar Ahmed is the sole spinner while Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf and Saim Ayub are all-round options.
South Africa’s first-time captain Donovan Ferriera acknowledged he would have bowled first too. South Africa’s inexperienced squad is bolstered by the return of Quinton de Kock. They have opted for four seam bowlers and one spinner, with Lhuan-dré Pretorius ruled out of the game due to illness.
Pakistan: 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: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Matthew Breetzke, Donovan Ferreira (capt), George Linde, Corbin Bosch, Lizaad Williams, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi
