Faf du Plessis, the World XI captain, chose to bowl in front of an expectant crowd at the Gaddafi Stadium, where the first T20I against Pakistan got underway.

Du Plessis echoed much of the sentiment that has become ubiquitous during the series. ‘It’s not just about a cricket series, it’s much more than that and we’re excited to be a part of it.’ Du Plessis captains a side that starts all five South Africans part of the touring party, with George Bailey named 12th man, reports the CricInfo.

Sarfraz Ahmed, who is captaining Pakistan in Pakistan for the first time, said, ‘We wanted to bat first anyway. The players are excited. Eight of them are playing at home for the first time.’

Mohammad Amir misses the series due to the birth of his first child, while Mohammad Nawaz, Usman Khan Shinwari and Umar Amin also sit out the first game.

Pakistan: 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Sarfraz Ahmed (capt & wk), 6 Faheem Ashraf, 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Shadab Khan, 9 Sohail Khan, 10 Hasan Ali, 11 Rumman Raees.

World XI: 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 David Miller, 5 Grant Elliott, 6 Thisara Perera, 7 Tim Paine (wk), 8 Ben Cutting, 9 Darren Sammy, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran Tahir.