South Africa and Pakistan will be playing against each other in the first T20I of the three-match series at the Kingsmead, Durban. Pakistan will be led by Mohammad Rizwan whereas Heinrich Klaasen has been named as the captain of the Proteas. Pakistan haven’t been in the best of forms in the T20I format and have suffered a lot in he past. Pakistan were knocked out of the T20 World Cup 2024 in the group stages whereas they also were given tough competition by Zimbabwe in the T20I series the ‘Men in Green’ played ahead of the South African tour.
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Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) didn’t include left-handed batter Fakhar Zaman. Fakhar has been out of the Pakistan cricket team after the tweet he shared in support of Pakistan cricketer Babar Azam, after he was dropped from the Test squad against England due to poor form. However, it looked like Fakhar will be included in the side for the white-balls series against South Africa but such didn’t happen. Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan was asked regarding the reason behind Fakhar’s exclusion from the squad of Pakistan in the SA vs PAK series.
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Mohammad Rizwan stated that Fakhar Zaman isn’t well due to which he wasn’t considered for selection. He said, “I think the whole of Pakistan knows Fakhar Zaman, and there’s nothing personal about him that makes anyone feel like he’s being treated unfairly. From the conversations we’ve had among ourselves, everyone is hopeful about him because he is something different for Pakistan, he’s a character and a game-changer.”
“I don’t think anyone knows that he’s unwell, basically. It’s not only a fitness issue, meaning it’s not like he failed a fitness test. From what I personally know, he’s unwell with something like a viral fever. Because of this illness, he’s been advised to participate in the ongoing T20 tournament in Pakistan”, he added.
