DURBAN: With the Pakistan team set to take on South Africa in the first T20I, captain Mohammad Rizwan has said that the Green Shirts were not intimidated by the Proteas’ home record and in fact were looking ahead to a successful series.
Speaking to the media outside the Kingsmead cricket stadium, Durban, Rizwan acknowledged that the conditions do pose a challenge in an away series as the pitch and weather are totally alien from the home surfaces.
However, he noted that the national side would not rest on their past laurels against the Proteas, adding that the team will focus on the current challenge.
His remarks come as the Men in Green will commence their South Africa tour today featuring a three-match T20I series which will be followed up by an ODI series with the same number of matches.
The tour will come to an end with two Tests, the latter of which will culminate on January 7.
The much-anticipated series promises thrilling encounters as Pakistan hope to repeat the performance they had put up in 2021 by winning the series 3-1, The News reported on Tuesday.
After a 1-1 draw at the end of the first two T20Is played at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, the tourists snatched wins in the next two played at Centurion to take the series 3-1.
South Africa though has never been a favourite hunting ground for Pakistan yet the last time they were there, they snatched even the ODI series 2-1 courtesy of some spectacular performance by Fakhar Zaman. His services, however, will be missed this time as he was declared unfit and not ready to play the international series.
Pakistan’s T20 squad sees the return of key players including white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan, rested during the Zimbabwe T20I series.
Babar, Naseem Shah, and Shaheen Shah Afridi are also back in action, adding depth and experience to the side.
Expressing his views on the series, Rizwan underscored the need to perform and said: “As professional players, we must acclimatise [with conditions] quickly and perform well”.
On opportunities to the young players, the wicket-keeper batter said the young talent has performed well in Australia and Zimbabwe and they have proven their mettle, adding that they have added to the bench strength of the Men’s team.
Addressing the issue of team combination, the skipper noted that the team had done well in the recently concluded white-ball series in Australia and Zimbabwe, adding that the bunch of players had proved their talent and helped in good team combinations.
