Pakistan will be up against South Africa in the first of the three-match T20I series. This article provides details about Pakistan’s Playing 11 vs South Africa for the first match of the series.
Pakistan Playing XI vs South Africa- 1st T20I, South Africa Tour of Pakistan 2025:
Openers: Sahibzada Farhan, Usman Khan (wk)
Pakistan would like to get off to a strong start in the three-match T20I series against South Africa after losing the second Test against the same opposition in Rawalpindi, the venue which is going to host the first T20I as well.
The home side has been boosted by the return of former captain Babar Azam, who hasn’t been a part of Pakistan’s T20I setup for quite a while.
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Another major change in the T20I squad is the absence of senior batter Fakhar Zaman, who, although he isn’t a part of the squad for this particular series but finds his name in the list of reserve players.
The Men in Green are expected to open their innings with Sahibzada Farhan and Usman Khan, the batter who was a part of the team in the 2024 T20 World Cup, and would want to put on a strong performance in the opening match of the series against South Africa.
Usman’s opening partner, Sahibzada Farhan, who showed good form in the Asia Cup, would also want 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 a middle order that is more or less the same compared to the one that featured in the Asia Cup, with a few changes, one of the most notable being the exclusion of Mohammad Haris.
Their middle order has three experienced players in the form of Babar Azam, captain Salman Ali Agha, and Mohammad Nawaz, all of whom will have to take the responsibility and guide the team to a match-winning total while batting first.
Along with the trio, talented players like Hasan Nawaz and Saim Ayub will also be banked upon by the management to make a significant contribution.
It would be interesting to see what the Men in Green decide to go with 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 might play five proper bowlers instead of all-rounders in the first T20I against South Africa.
A couple of names that in all likelihood will feature in Pakistan’s bowling lineup for the series opener include newly appointed ODI captain Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Nawaz.
Other than the two, we might get to see Mohammad Waseem Jnr and Salman Miraz as the second and third fast bowlers who will assist Shaheen Afridi.
As far as the spin bowling department is concerned, it will comprise Abrar Ahmed as the second spinner, along with Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha, also rolling their arm over if required.
