Corbin Bosch called up as South Africa announce 16-man squad for Pakistan tests

South Africa will play a two-match test series against Pakistan.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced 16-member squad on Wednesday, December 18, for the upcoming two-match test series against Pakistan. The announcement was made by Proteas head coach Shukri Conrad.

The series will start in Centurion on December 26, followed by the second test in Cape Town, starting on January 3. While Pakistan are already out of contention for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final, South Africa need to win at least one of the two tests against Pakistan to secure their spot in the final.

South Africa have made several bold decisions for their upcoming test series. The Proteas have included lead spinner Keshav Maharaj and all-rounder Wiaan Mulder despite their ongoing fitness concerns, along with Corbin Bosch who is yet to play an international game.

Shukri Conrad on South Africa’s squad against Pakistan

Speaking to media after squad announcement, South Africa’s test coach, Shukri Conrad noted that the side is focused on securing a positive result with the ICC WTC 2023-25 final in sight.

Shukri said, “We head into this series with a clear focus, with a spot in the World Test Championship Final being the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. We’ve selected a squad which gives us the best chance to achieve that.“

He also emphasized that playing against Pakistan would be challenging given their world-class fast bowling unit.

He concluded, “They (Pakistan) always pose a strong threat with the talented fast bowlers they produce and I expect it to be no different this time around.“

South Africa test squad vs Pakistan

Temba Bavuma (c), David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, and Kyle Verreynne (wk).

South Africa vs Pakistan test series schedule

26-30 December 2024, 1st Test, Centurion, 1:30PM IST

03-07 January 2025, 2nd Test, Cape Town, 2:00PM IST

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