South Africa were brilliant in the last cycle, but this will be a tough series for them. Pakistan, usually very inconsistent, have found a very successful strategy to win at home. Taking a leaf out of India’s book, they’ve also turned to making dust bowls at home, where scoring runs against the spinners requires tremendous skills. They defeated England using the same tactics, and would almost certainly continue it against South Africa. While batting will be tough for Pakistan batters as well, the better spin attack gives them an edge over the Proteas. Pakistan have included two spinners – Sajid Khan and Noman Ali in the playing XI
South Africa will also rue the absence of two of their most valuable players – Temba Bavuma, arguably the best player against spinners in the team, and Keshav Maharaj, their best and most experienced spinner.
South Africa Squad: Aiden Markram(c), Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Kyle Verreynne(w), Marco Jansen, Senuran Muthusamy, Simon Harmer, Kagiso Rabada, Zubayr Hamza, Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Prenelan Subrayen
Pakistan Squad: Shan Masood(c), Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan(w), Salman Agha, Sajid Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Khurram Shahzad, Asif Afridi, Imam-ul-Haq, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Rohail Nazir, Noman Ali
