T20 series: Asif Ali, Sahibzada Farhan depart for South Africa

LAHORE: Pakistan's Asif Ali and Sahibzada Farhan departed for South Africa on Monday for next month's three-match Twenty20 series against South Africa.

The two cricketers departed for South Africa from Allama Iqbal International Airport and will be joining the national cricket team. Asif and Farhan are part of the 15-man squad for the T20 series against South Africa.

Meanwhile, openers Imam-ul-Haq and Shan Masood will return to the country after featuring in the one-day series.

Mohammad Rizwan, who is replacing Sarfaraz Ahmed in the T20 squad following his suspension, will remain in South Africa. Sarfaraz will return to Pakistan tonight.

Shoaib Malik will be captaining the team in the last one-day and T20 series as Sarfraz has been suspended for four matches after accepting that he was in breach of the ICC’s anti-racism code for his remarks against South Africa's Andile Phehlukwayo.

Pakistan, who are currently playing a five-match one-day series in South Africa, will play Twenty20 matches in Cape Town on February 1, Johannesburg on February 3 and at Centurion on February 6.

Squad: Shoaib Malik (captain), Asif Ali, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Hussain Talat, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Usman Shinwari