Pakistan Announce T20 Squad Against South Africa, In-Form Hafeez Dropped

In-form batsman Mohammad Hafeez and struggling opener Fakhar Zaman are absentees from the Pakistan squad named by selectors Sunday for the Twenty20 international series against South Africa next month.

The 40-year-old Hafeez is in the form of his life, scoring 502 runs in his last 12 Twenty20 internationals at an average of 100.40 with a strike rate of 153.

But chief selector Mohammad Waseem said the senior batsman was not available for the series.

"There are no questions over Hafeez's performance, but he has not given his availability on February 3 when the squad will go in a bio-secure environment," said Waseem while announcing the squad.

Hafeez is currently featuring in the T10 league in Abu Dhabi, which finishes on February 6.

Pakistan and South Africa will play three Twenty20 matches -- all in Lahore -- on February 11, 13 and 14.

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