He was coming on the back of a great form, scalping eight wickets in the three ODIs against England.
South Africa are currently visiting Pakistan for a multi-format series, which consists of two Test matches, followed by three T20Is and as many ODIs. But star spinner Keshav Maharaj, who recently led the side in the usual captain Temba Bavuma’s absence in the first Test against Zimbabwe in June 2025, has not been included in the Proteas squad for the series opener in Lahore.
The 35-year-old is yet to recover from his groin injury that he suffered during the warm-up for the first T20I against England. He was coming on the back of a great form, scalping eight wickets in the three ODIs against the hosts. But the injury ruled him out of the entire 20-over series, which the two teams levelled with the score of 1-1 after the final fixture was abandoned due to rain.
The spinner is expected to make a comeback in the squad for the second Test, which will begin on October 20 in Rawalpindi. Notably, the player is currently featuring in South Africa’s domestic tournament before returning to the international side. Maharaj was seen to lead the Dolphins in the CSA 4-Day Series, in which he scored an unbeaten 43 off 52 balls and also snared three crucial wickets.
However, the last time Maharaj faced Pakistan during the second red-ball fixture at home in January 2025, he had bagged a fifer and also contributed with a crucial 40-run knock in their mammoth first-innings’ total of 615.
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The 19-year-old prodigy Kwena Maphaka has also been sidelined from the tour’s white-ball leg due to a hamstring strain. Initially, he was named in the squad for the three T20Is and ODIs. But his recent injury while featuring in a domestic match halted his participation in the Pakistan tour.
Moreover, South Africa’s Test and ODI skipper Bavuma will also miss the series due to the calf strain that he sustained during the aforementioned fixtures against England. In his absence, Proteas’ T20I captain Aiden Markram will lead the side in the red-ball matches.
Furthermore, the management has opted to rest some of the all-format players for the white-ball matches of the tour. That being said, David Miller will captain the squad in the T20Is, while Matthew Breetzke has been named as the skipper for the 50-over matches.
Aiden Markram (C), David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj (only for the second Test), Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Prenelan Subrayen, Kyle Verreynne.
David Miller (C), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Donovan Ferreira, Reeza Hendricks, George Linde, Ottneil Baartman, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Andile Simelane, Lizaad Williams.
Matthew Breetzke (C), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Donovan Ferreira, Bjorn Fortuin, George Linde, Lizaad Williams, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Sinethemba Qeshile.
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