Pakistan, South Africa series trophy unveiled

The trophy for the upcoming Pakistan-South Africa Test series has been unveiled here in Lahore on Saturday.

The first match of the two-Test series will be played from October 12 in Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.

Both captains Shan Masood of Pakistan and South Africa’s Aiden Markram were present at the PCB’s headquarters for the trophy unveiling ceremony.

Pakistan captain Shan Masood, while speaking to the Pakistan Cricket Board, stated that their main goal for the series is to start the Test Championship cycle well.

“The main goal for every team is to win the Test championship, and for us, it is all about starting well,” he said.

“We have got a perfect opposition – the team that won the last Test championship.

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“To play in our home conditions against them is a great opportunity for us. Any challenge in the Test championship is always going to test you, but for us, it allows us to measure ourselves against the best team in the world, and hopefully, we can put in a good performance, and we will know that we are right up there, and we are right up in the rankings,” he said.

The left-hander also highlighted the importance of performing well in home conditions in order to progress in the championship cycle.

“It is very important, and I think, if you look at the teams that have played the final and won the championship, they have done well in their home conditions,” he said. “For us, it is about finding that improvement at home, and it is very important to start off well.”

Meanwhile, South Africa captain Aiden Markram stated that he is looking forward to a challenging series against Pakistan.

“An exciting start to the new cycle, and it is great to be back in Pakistan, of course,” he said. “I’m looking forward to a challenging but fun series. Always great to be here, and really looking forward to getting things started.”

Commenting on skipper Temba Bavuma’s absence, who ruled out of the series due to injury, Markram said that they want to keep the team moving in the right direction.

“To work quite closely with Temba Bavuma, that is his side, and we want to work together to keep the team moving in the same direction,” he said. “So we have managed to do some quite cool things recently, but this is the start of the new cycle, and we will keep very close to each other, and keep communicating regularly, and try to steer the team in the right direction possible.”

“Everything, even the Test matches to a Test series, is going to be a tough challenge, especially coming from South African conditions; this is the challenge that our guys are looking forward to,” he concluded.