Leg spinner, Zahid Mehmood, is expected to receive a call up to the National T20I squad for the series against South Africa based on his stellar domestic performances. Mehmood is likely to replace all-rounder, Shadab Khan, who has been ruled out of the series due to an injury.
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Mehmood is the highest wicket-taker in the ongoing Pakistan One-Day Cup, with 13 wickets in 7 matches. He was excellent in the National T20 Cup and the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy as well. He picked up 12 wickets in National T20 Cup and finished as the third-highest wicket-taker in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy with 52 wickets.
Shadab was ruled out of the second Test against New Zealand due to a high-grade full-thickness tear to the Rectus Femoris muscle and doctors advised him of a six-week rehab to fully recover from the injury.
Mehmood will face stiff competition from Usman Qadir for the spot in the starting line-up. Qadir picked up four wickets on his T20I debut against Zimbabwe a couple of months ago, and the management might put their trust in the young leggie.
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Pakistan Test squad saw nine changes from their dreadful tour of New Zealand and similar changes are expected in the T20I squad. Wicket-keeper batsman, Azam Khan, middle-order batsman, Sohaib Maqsood, and openers, Zeeshan Malik and Sharjeel Khan are also rumored to be in the plans of chief selector Mohammad Wasim.
The first T20I between Pakistan and South Africa will be played on 11 February, while the second and third match will be played on 13 and 14 February respectively.
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