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Klaasen, Stubbs Excluded As Temba Bavuma Wins The Toss And Opts To Bat At Karachi

Muskaan Bhatt

AFG vs SA Toss (Source: Screenshot from JioHotstar)AFG vs SA Toss (Source: Screenshot from JioHotstar)

It's time for the first game of Champions Trophy match at the Karachi Stadium in Pakistan. The highly awaited clash between Afghanistan and South Africa is all set to begin in mere minutes from now. As revealed during the coin toss, Temba Bavuma's South Africa won the toss and chose to bat first against the Proteas Men.

In big news Heinrich Klaasen and Tristan Stubbs will be missing out this game for South Afrcia. Klaasen has sustained a discomfort in the elbow as per updates by Crex. Hashmatullah Shahidi-led Afghanistan will be featuring some key stars like Rahmanullah Gurbaz,  Ibrahim Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi and more.

Afghanistan vs South Africa: Playing XIs 

South Africa Playing XI : Ryan Rickelton (wk), Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi

Afghanistan Playing XI : Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Afghanistan vs South Africa: Captain's Thoughts

Hashmatullah Shahidi (Afghanistan Captain): "If we had won the toss, we also wanted to bat first. Toss is not in our hands. We can play good cricket. There are a lot of things. We have played quality cricket against them in Sharjah. Hopefully, we do well and beat them. This wicket should suit our spinners as well. I will be more happy if we start well. We need to pick up wickets with the new ball and take that momentum to the middle overs. I will be happy if we do this and restrict them."

Temba Bavuma (South Africa Captain): "We will bat first. This wicket looks a bit different from what we have been experiencing here in Pakistan. We can't be sure how it will react, so we need to assess it first. Runs on the board would be the key here. Hopefully, we can get a competitive score on the board.  We have a lot of confidence in the bowling attack as they have lacked consistency, but they have been our strength. Today, we have gone for a lone spinner in (Tabraiz) Shamsi, and the rest are seamers. We will have to assess and see what is a good score, a bit tricky to say now."