Pakistan announces 20-member T20I squad against South Africa, Mohammad Hafeez and Fakhar Zaman not included

Pakistan on Sunday named a 20-member squad for the three T20I matches against South Africa starting on February 11, and the biggest surprise in the squad was the absence of Mohammad Hafeez and Fakhar Zaman.

Chief selector Mohammad Waseem, however, made it clear that Hafeez was not included not based on his form, but because the all-rounder has not assured his availability for the series.

"There are no questions over Hafeez's performance, but he has not given his availability on February 3 when the squad will go in a bio-secure environment," Waseem said soon after announcing the squad.

Hafeez is currently featuring in the T10 league in Abu Dhabi, which finishes on February 6.

He has been in great form in the last couple of months, scoring 502 runs in his last 12 Twenty20 internationals at an average of 100.40



with a strike rate of 153.

However, with opener Fakhar Zaman, the case is just the opposite. He has struggled for form in his last couple of matches, scoring just 97 runs in his last ten matches. He also missed the Twenty20 series in New Zealand in December following a positive Covid-19 test.

Babar Azam will lead the squad, which also sees comebacks for pacer Hasan Ali, all-rounder Aamer Yamin and batsman Asif Ali.

Pakistan and South Africa will play three T20I matches all in Lahore on February 11, 13 and 14.

Pakistan T20I Squad: Babar Azam (captain), Haider Ali, Khushdil Shah, Hussian Talat, Danish Aziz, Asif Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Zafar Gohar, Faheem Ashraf, Aamer Yamin, Amad Butt, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hussain, Hasan Ali, Usman Qadir, Zahid Mahmood