PAARL: The trophy for the ODI series between Pakistan and South Africa has been unveiled yesterday here at Boland Park.

The three-match ODI series will kick off tomorrow at the same venue at 05:00 PM (PST), while the second and third fixtures are scheduled to be played at Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town and The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg on 17 and 19 December, respectively. South Africa had won the T20I series 2-0 after the third T20I was washed out on 14 December. The ODI series holds a lot of significance for both Pakistan and South Africa as they look to fine-tune their preparations for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy in February and March 2025.

Pakistan’s squad has been bolstered with the return of pacer Naseem Shah, opening batter Abdullah Shafique and top-order batter Kamran Ghulam while wrist-spinner Sufyan Moqim and Usman Khan have received their maiden ODI call-ups. This will be Mohammad Rizwan’s third ODI series as skipper of the side as he has started his stint with back-to-back ODI series wins over Australia and Zimbabwe. In their last bilateral face-off in the 50-over format, Pakistan won the three-match series 2-1 in South Africa in April 2021. “This is a vital ODI series in terms of our preparations for the ICC Champions Trophy and with Allah’s help we will look to emulate our performances from the ODI series against Australia,” Rizwan said.  “We couldn’t get the ideal results in the T20I series but I am really happy with some of the performances put in by our players in these conditions especially Saim’s batting was brilliant in both games.

“I see a lot of potential in our ODI squad with players young and experienced both willing to put the best step forward, which makes us an exciting prospect as a one-day side not just going into this series but also in the home tri-nation series and the blockbuster white-ball mega event at home.”