Du Plessis looking forward to his first Test on Pakistani soil.

LAHORE -- When the South African contingent arrived in Karachi on Saturday, it included Faf du Plessis who travelled to the country for the third time in less than four years.

The classy middle-order batsman captained an ICC World XI team for three T20Is in Lahore in 2017 and then returned to Karachi last year for Peshawar Zalmi in the HBL Pakistan Super League 2020 playoffs. The 36-year-old is in line to play his 68th Test but first in Pakistan when the two-Test series starts on 26 January at the National Stadium.

While the preceding tours helped Faf to have 'peace of mind' in regards to the security levels in the country, the former South Africa Test captain admitted he did not expect to be in the traditional whites on the Pakistani soil two months after his most recent visit. Du Plessis has played seven Tests against Pakistan in which he has scored 246 runs - including a century - at average of 27.33. Two of those seven games were played in the UAE, where Pakistan hosted their home cricket from 2010 until 2019, before the complete restoration of international and top-flight cricket in the country.

'That is one thing I did not see happening in my time,' du Plessis told the PCB digital. 'I knew white-ball cricket was happening here, but I did not know that the red-ball cricket was going to happen this soon. I am looking forward to it and I hope that it is the same as it was 13 years ago - the wickets are flat so we the batters can score some runs.'

He said that it was important that Pakistan players continued to play their cricket on their home soil to inspire youngsters to take up the game and remained hopeful that this tour will bring more international teams to the country. 'It's important for Pakistan to play in home...

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