Klaasen to lead SA in Pakistan T20Is; Nortje and Shamsi return

Cricket South Africa has announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming T20I series against Pakistan, but notably, the team will be without some star players. Heinrich Klaasen will lead the side in this series. Key players Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, and Tristan Stubbs will be rested for this series. On the other hand, fast bowler Anrich Nortje and spinner Tabraiz Shamsi return to the squad.

Nortje and Shamsi were last seen playing in the T20 World Cup in June and will return to the South African T20I team for the first time since the tournament. Also, all-rounder George Linde has been called up to the squad, having last played for South Africa in 2021.

South Africa's head coach, Rob Walter, expressed confidence in Nortje's abilities, saying, "He has a lot of experience, so there’s no need for him to play 50-over cricket. Before that, he was active in SA T20Is, and in this series, he’ll be fully engaged. I’m not concerned about him. He’s not a young cricketer, he understands his game."

The three-match T20I series between South Africa and Pakistan will begin on December 10 in Durban. The remaining two T20Is will take place in Centurion and Johannesburg on December 13 and 14, respectively.

South Africa T20I Squad: Heinrich Klaasen (Captain), Aiden Markram, Matthew Britzke, Donovan Ferreira, Reeza Hendricks, Patrick Kruger, George Linde, Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Nkaba Peter, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Andile Phehlukwayo, and Rassie van der Dussen.