T20, ODI series: Misbah, Hafeez retain captaincies as squad for South Africa tour announced

Dispelling all the rumours and analysis of critics, Misbah-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez have been retained as skippers for ODI and T20 squad, respectively, for the upcoming series against South Africa, as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Saturday announced a 17-member squad for this short tour starting from November 20 with T20 match.
Fast bowler Mohammad Irfan has been left out because of injury; while pacer Wahab Riaz who went wicketless in three ODIs against South Africa in the UAE and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed who was not given any chance have been dropped. Medium pacer Anwar Ali and all-rounder Bilawal Bhatti have been included in the side. Shoaib Malik and Abdul Razzaq who failed to show their muscles in the two T20 matches against South Africa have been retained for the upcoming series.
Pakistan cricket team particularly batsmen and all-rounder had to face criticism due to their dismal performance in the recently concluded series in the UAE in which Pakistan lost the T20s 2-0 and the ODIs 4-1. During the upcoming series against South Africa, Pakistan will play two T20 matches against host on November 20 and 22 at Johannesburg and Cape Town. Pakistan will play three ODIs on November 24, 27 and 30 at Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Centurion.
Bilawal Bhatti is known for all-round performance. He has been in national contention for the last two years, but was left behind on the back of an injury he sustained last year. Bilawal is one of the few bowlers in Pakistan who can bat fluently, and he has two first-class hundreds to his credit for domestic side, which he represents. Pacer Anwar Ali (25) made a name for himself during Pakistan's successful Under-19 World Cup campaign in Sri Lanka in 2006. He has played three T20s for Pakistan so far, the most recent being on the Zimbabwe tour in August.
Mohammad Irfan has not been considered due to injury. He is staying back in the UAE for his medical checkups, a PCB spokesman said. Squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain ODI), Mohammad Hafeez (captain T20), Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal (wk), Umar Amin, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik, Sohaib Maqsood, Sohail Tanvir, Anwar Ali, Junaid Khan, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Nasir Jamshed, Asad Shafiq and Bilawal Bhatti.