Naseem and Babar make their way back to the Pakistan test side for the two-test series against South Africa.
Naseem and Babar return for South Africa Tests, but there’s no place for Afridi.
Pakistan’s lineup for the December and January two-Test series in South Africa does not include Shaheen Shah Afridi. Afridi is still included in the white-ball squads for the tour despite being cut from Pakistan’s Test team following their loss to England in the first Test match in October. Following that first Test, Afridi was released along with Babar Azam and Naseem Shah, who are now back in the Test team.
However, Afridi’s absence from the Tests in particular seems to indicate that he has reached a stage in his career where the red-ball format is no longer as important to him as it once was—a situation that could even be permanent.
Afridi has played in just a few Test matches since recovering from a knee injury sustained July 2022. He has been unproductive throughout that time, taking 17 wickets at an average of 45.47 in six games. Given that he was left out of these Tests. It is highly improbable that he will be selected for Pakistan’s January home Test series against the West Indies. After which there won’t be any Test matches until October 2025.
Seamer Mohammad Abbas, who last represented Pakistan in Test cricket in 2021, is also making a comeback. During Pakistan’s most recent Test tour to South Africa in 2018–19, he was the sole fast bowler in the team.
Sajid Khan is not included in the touring group. He, together with Noman Ali, helped turn the series against England around by rearranging Pakistan’s pitches to suit the spinners. Sajid took 19 wickets in the two Test matches. However, South Africa’s surfaces will be very different from those in that country. Pakistan has chosen to go with just one spinner and use Noman’s left-arm orthodox spin.
For the first time since he was sidelined by a recurrent rib ailment during Pakistan’s home Test matches against Bangladesh in August, Khurram Shahzad is back in the Test squad.
High pace, which is more crucial in South Africa than possibly anywhere else, is slightly lacking in Pakistan’s team as a result. The only real fast bowler for Pakistan in the series is Naseem. The other members of the team are Aamer Jamal, Shahzad, Abbas, and Mir Hamza. The South African Test team has a number of fast bowlers capable of hitting the high 140s and even higher. This is probably going to be in sharp contrast to this.