Shaheen Afridi Injured- (Source:@FaridKhan/X.com)
The third T20I between Pakistan and South Africa is slated to take place at The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday, 14 December. While this game is a dead rubber, the Mohammad Rizwan-led side would hope to bow out of the T20I series with their head held high after facing two consecutive defeats.
Despite Saim Ayub's brilliant show last night, where he slammed an unbeaten 98 off 57 balls, the other batters, including big names like Babar Azam and Usman Khan, failed to show up in critical times. The former captain, who has looked in dismal form this year, departed for a forgetful duck in the first game and then for a sub-par score of 31 runs in the most recent clash; his form has been a big reason for Pakistan's failures.
Usman Khan Out; Agha Salman In?
The 29-year-old, Usman has also been relatively unsuccessful with the bat as he has yet to get past the 10-run mark. In the first game, he was dismissed for nine runs, and then in the second T20I, he was forced to walk back for just three runs off five balls. There is a strong chance that the captain would look the other way and bring in Salman Ali Agha in his place for the upcoming game simply because his stats have been slightly better than the former in recent times. His reputation as the vice-captain of the team make him a reliable player for the team.
It is not just the batters; the Pakistani bowlers have also faltered repeatedly in the series, especially frontliners like Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf. While Shaheen has picked up wickets, he unfortunately sustained a potential collar bone injury in the previous game, which is why there is a strong chance that he could be dropped for this clash. If he remains fit, Haris Rauf is expected to be benched from Pakistan's playing XI as the right-arm fast bowler has gone wicket-less and leaked runs like a maniac.
Mohammad Hasnain Likely To Replace Afridi Or Rauf
Whoever out of the two misses the highly anticipated clash will be replaced by Mohammad Hasnain, the only remaining option left with the team, who has shown that his performance can be match-winning.
His best performance came most recently in Pakistan's Champions One-Day Cup, where he was the leading wicket-taker as he scalped 17 wickets and was also awarded the Player of the series award after playing a crucial role in his team, Panthers' victory in the tournament.
Pakistan's Probable XI
Mohammad Rizwan (c and wk), Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Usman Khan/Salman Ali Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Irfan Khan Niazi, Shaheen Afridi/Mohammad Hasnain, Abbas Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
 (1).jpg?type=mq "New Timing For IND vs AUS 3rd Test")
 "Muskaan Bhatt")
