By Aijaz Hussain
Cricket fans in Pakistan have once again been greeted with good news as the PCB has announced that South Africa’s National cricket team will play an International series in Pakistan against the host nation in January and February of 2021. The touring squad will be gearing up for a two-test and three-match T20I series.
The two sides will lock horns for the test matches at the National Stadium and the Rawalpindi Crikcet Stadium respectively, with the T20I competiitons scheduled to take place at the Gaddafi Stadium.
The dates for the matches have also been confirmed; the first test will take place from 26th to 30th Jan, the second one will be played from 4th to 8th February, while the dates reserved for the T20I series are 11th, 13th, and 15th of February.
This will be the first time in 14 years that South Africa will be flying to Pakistan to play international cricket. The last time the two sides met in the country was in 2007, where the touring nation managed to claim the bragging rights in both the test and ODI series.
PCB Director International Cricket Zakir Khan has expressed happiness at this prospect and has said that South Africa’s confirmation of the tour is fabulous news for Pakistan Cricket and its fans. He further added that South African players have been one of the most popular ones in Pakistan and the nation looks forward in welcoming them.
Apart from this, the newly appointed all-format skipper, Babar Azam, has also hailed the proceedings. In a statement, he said he was full of joy on hearing the news and was eagerly anticipating the opportunity of captaining his National team for the first time in his home country. He mentioned that playing a side which is ‘ranked above us’ is crucial for the learning and development process of the team as well as to better the country’s rankings in all formats.
