Pakistan to tour South Africa in April for 3 ODIs and 4 T20Is

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), on Friday, confirmed Pakistan would tour South Africa later this year for the limited-overs series. The Men in Green will visit the African country in April to lock horns against the Proteas in three ODIs and four T20Is. The ODI series, which will be a part of the ICC ODI Super League, will kickstart Pakistan’s tour of South Africa.

Babar Azam & Co. will depart for Johannesburg on March 26 while the series will start on April 2 in Centurion. The second and third ODIs are scheduled to take place on April 4 and 7. The second ODI will be played in Johannesburg before the teams return to Centurion for the last ODI. Pakistan started their campaign in the ongoing Super League when they hosted Zimbabwe in November for a three-match series.

South Africa, on the other hand, will play their first series in the Super League when they host Pakistan. The Proteas would have played their first series in December itself but their home ODI series against England had to be called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The upcoming series was also originally scheduled for October 2020 but was postponed because of the pandemic.

The original series featured only three T20Is but another game has been added to the upcoming series after a request from Cricket South Africa (CSA). The series will start on April 10 in Johannesburg. The second game is scheduled to take place at the same venue on April 12 before Centurion hosts the last two T20Is on April 14 and 16.

We are delighted to finally confirm the dates, says Graeme Smith

CSA’s director of cricket and former South Africa captain Graeme Smith expressed his delight over confirming the schedule for the series. Hailing Pakistan as one of the most dangerous limited-overs teams in the world, Smith said he is hopeful of seeing a good fight from the visitors in the upcoming series.

“We are delighted to finally confirm the dates and full schedule for Pakistan’s white-ball tour to South Africa. Pakistan have proved their status over the years as one of the most dangerous limited-overs teams and I’m sure they will give the Proteas a stern test on the Highveld.

We will also have the much-anticipated ‘Betway Pink ODI’ take place during the tour and that is something further to look forward to for the players, the fans and all those associated with this iconic day.We are grateful to the PCB for agreeing to our request within a short period of time to increase the length of the trip by adding in a fourth T20, which will give us some much-needed additional international content,” said Smith according to PCB release.

Schedule for Pakistan’s tour of South Africa:

2 April – 1st ODI; SuperSport Park, Centurion

4 April – 2nd ODI; Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

7 April – 3rd ODI; SuperSport Park, Centurion

10 April – 1st T20I; Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

12 April – 2nd T20I; Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

14 April – 3rd T20I; SuperSport Park, Centurion

16 April -4th T20I; SuperSport Park, Centurion