Babar Azam set to return, no place for Shaheen Afridi in Pakistan’s squad for South Africa Tests

Babar, who was dropped mid-way into Pakistan's last Test series against England is set to make a return to the team, however Shaheen has once again not been given a spot in the team

Former Pakistan Test skipper Babar Azam is set to make a return to the format in the Men in Green’s upcoming 2-match Test series against South Africa. Babar was dropped from the team during Pakistan’s recent Test series against England at home. His replacement, Kamran Ghulam cemented his place in the team with a century on his debut.

Babar will be looking to make amends and impress the selectors with some fine knocks in the upcoming series against the Proteas. A disappointing display can lead to him getting dropped from the Test team once again.

However, a big name that wasn’t able to make it into the team was pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi. Though the pacer did make it to both the ODI and T20I squads, his name wasn’t there to b found in the Test squad. It is expected that the pacer has been rested from the Test team in order to prepare for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, set to begin on February 19.

This is not the first time that the Men in Green will be playing an important Test series without the services of Afridi as he also missed Pakistan’s 3-match Test series against England where the former ended up winning by 2-1.

The 24-year-old pacer will be missing out on the Test series which is set to begin from December 26, but will feature in both the T20I and ODI series against South Africa.