Pakistan have named their squads for the upcoming white-ball assignment against South Africa, with talented batter Babar Azam making his comeback to the shortest format. Along with Babar Azam, Naseem Shah has also been named in the T20I squad. The same T20I squad will also be playing in the T20I tri-series, involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. The tri-series will be played from November 17 to 29 in Rawalpindi and Lahore. Pakistan, meanwhile, will be hosting South Africa in three T20Is and three ODIs starting from October 28. The three-match T20I series against South Africa will be held in Rawalpindi and Lahore from October 28 to November 1. And the three-match ODI series between Pakistan and South Africa will be played in Faisalabad from November 4 to 8.
Babar and Naseem, who were not considered for Pakistan's recent T20I series against West Indies and the Asia Cup 2025, make a timely return to the side as Pakistan ramp up preparation for next year's T20I World Cup. Their inclusion also signals that they could be back in the frame for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Pakistan T20I squad: Salman Agha (c), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan, Usman Tariq
Pakistan ODI squad: Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha