South Africa v Pakistan: Players to Watch and Bet On

The Proteas and Pakistan will do battle in a three-match ODI series and a four-match T20I series, which will be a great way to prepare for the T20 World Cup in India later this year.

The matches will be played at the Wanderers and Centurion. Mark Boucher’s men will be looking for much more improved performances on home soil after their disappointing tour of Pakistan

The Proteas – Plotting The Path to World Cup 2023

We have selected three players from each side who could have a big impact in the three-match ODI series.

Rassie van der Dussen

Rassie van der Dussen has matured immensely since his debut in 2018 and has become an integral part of the Proteas side in all three formats. He is the only player in history to score a half-century on international debut in all three formats (Tests, ODIs, T20Is). With Faf du Plessis not in the squad, van der Dussen will play a key role in South Africa’s middle order. We will have to wait and see if he has improved his ability to rotate the strike and his ability to play the spinners because that is something world-class players do very well.

Kagiso Rabada

Kagiso Rabada has been South Africa’s premier fast bowler since he burst onto the scene in 2014. The South African speedster has not been at his best in international cricket in the past few years with his recent performances in the Test series v the same opponent not of the standard of a player of KG’s quality. If Rabada can bring the form he has shown in the IPL in the past two years to international cricket, it would not only bode the Proteas well in this series but also in the T20 World Cup in India later this year

Proteas v Pakistan: Talking Points From the T20 Series

Tabraiz Shamsi

Tabraiz Shamsi has stepped up his game since the retirement of Imran Tahir, he is now the number 1 ranked T20 bowler in the world which tells you how far he’s come. He has started to take big wickets for the Proteas and always has a decent economy rate. His battle with Shadab Khan will be an interesting one to see which wrist-spinner will come out on top.
Captain, Temba Bavuma will be hoping his spin bowler can transfer his T20 form into the ODIs.

Babar Azam

When you are talking about classy batsmen, you have to include Babar Azam in the conversation as one of the classiest batsmen today. He’s an extremely gifted player who can play both pace and spin. He is the captain and talisman of this Pakistani side so they will be looking to him for inspiration. He is ranked second in the ODI rankings only behind Virat Kolhi who he can leapfrog to the top of the rankings if he performs well in this upcoming ODI series.

He is up there with the best batsmen in the world and will definitely play a key role if Pakistan are to do well in this series.

Proteas T20 Player Ratings v Pakistan

Mohammed Rizwan

Mohammad Rizwan is currently going through a ‘purple patch’, he scored a century in both the recent Test and T20 series against the Proteas. He’s Pakistan’s in-form batsman at the moment and the fact that he is a wicket-keeper makes him even more valuable to the balance of the Pakistani team. He became only the second wicket-keeper batsmen after Brendon McCullum, to score a hundred in all 3 formats of the game and will be hoping that his rich vein of form continues to increase his team’s chances of winning the three-match series he can.

Shaheen Shah Afridi

The 20-year-old has been quite a find for Pakistani cricket, at his tender age he has already taken 45 wickets in 22 games at an average of 21.64 with an economy rate of 5.59. He made his debut in 2018 against Afghanistan. It is hard to believe that he is only 20 years old, he is maturing and improving with each game that he plays and will relish the pitches that will be on offer in Johannesburg and Pretoria. He and Hasan Ali could play a key role for Pakistan with their pace and skill set.