South Africa name Graeme Smith in Test and ODI squads to face Pakistan
Graeme Smith has been included in South Africa's Test and one-day squads to face Pakistan in the UAE next month.
Last Updated: 10/09/13 11:54am
The opening batsman is still recovering from the ankle operation he underwent in May which curtailed his season in the County Championship with Surrey.
The left-hander suffered a stress-fracture of his left ankle in only his fourth appearance for Surrey, and he had pins inserted during surgery to repair the damage.
But South Africa's chief selector Andrew Hudson hopes that Smith will prove his fitness for next month's tour to the United Arab Emirates over the next two weeks.
"We should have a definite picture on the status of Graeme's recovery from surgery within the next two weeks," Hudson said. "We will obviously be monitoring his condition very carefully and do not want to overload him too much during the early stages of his return."
Pace spearhead Dale Steyn also returns to the Proteas squad after sitting out the tour of Sri Lanka in July and August due to injuries he sustained during the ICC Champions Trophy.
Impressed
Jacques Kallis has been left out of the one-day squad as part of his workload management ahead of the 2015 World Cup, however Imran Tahir, Wayne Parnell and Vernon Philander have been recalled.
Hudson added: "Both Imran and Wayne had good tours to Sri Lanka in the T20 series while we want to give Vernon the chance to show us what he can do. He and Wayne are both good lower-order all-rounders and have the ability to contribute significantly in the batting department as well.
"We have retained the 15-man Test squad that has served us so well over the past couple of years.
"They have impressed not just with the results but with the depth in the squad and a notable feature has been the manner in which players have put up their hands when we have had the inevitable injuries."
The tour starts with the first of two Test matches on October 14, with five one-day internationals and two Twenty20 clashes to follow.
Test squad: G Smith (Capt), H Amla, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, F du Plessis, D Elgar, I Tahir, J Kallis, R Kleinveldt, M Morkel, A Petersen, R Peterson, V Philander, D Steyn, T Tsolekile.
ODI squad: AB de Villiers (Capt), H Amla, Q de Kock, JP Duminy, F du Plessis, I Tahir, R McLaren, D Miller, M Morkel, W Parnell, R Peterson, V Philander, G Smith, D Steyn, L Tsotsobe.
