KARACHI, Jan 14: Mohammad Hafeez, the Pakistan Twenty20 captain, predicted on Monday the forthcoming Test series in South Africa will be a tough one but won’t create major worries for Misbah-ul-Haq’s charges despite the national outfit playing just a handful of Tests last year.

Talking to reporters here at the National Stadium on the sidelines of the President’s Trophy final, the well-mannered Hafeez appealed to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to ensure more Test-playing opportunities for Pakistan who figured in just six matches in 2012.

“It was obviously disappointing for us to be participating in only six Tests. We had three matches against England in the UAE [where Pakistan completed a historic whitewash of the then world No 1 Test side] in January. And then we played another three Tests in Sri Lanka [which Pakistan lost 1-0] some six months later,” Hafeez lamented.

“So we are basically going to play the current top-ranked Test team after almost six months. This is really unfortunate that we seldom get opportunities to prove ourselves at the highest level. The cricket board must address this shortcoming and plan Test series on a regular basis,” Hafeez asserted.

“To my mind the real battle takes place is Test cricket where we see quality players in action just like Pakistan have Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq who are products of Test format. We definitely need to promote Test cricket.”

Hafeez said the biggest challenge for any touring team is to get acclimatize to the unfamiliar conditions but added that Pakistan would get used to the South African environment quickly.

“It is invariably difficult for a visiting team to quickly adapt to the local conditions. We’ll have about 10 days before the Test series to get accustomed to the playing conditions in South Africa. Pakistan, more or less, have to overcome this drawback in the period leading up to the start of the series,” he stressed. “The scheduling has been made to help us since we would be arriving in South Africa early and then play a four-day warm-up match.”

Hafeez was confident that despite the loopholes, Pakistan would adjust to challenge Graeme Smith’s world-beaters.

“Of course it would be tough because most of the players in the squad have not played in South Africa before. We would be playing them in Test cricket after six years in their backyard. But we have adjusted well in the past. The boys have been playing four-day matches regularly since October [when the domestic first-class season began] and are well prepared for the tour,” Hafeez said.

“There is no doubt in our mind that South Africa would be a big challenge because of the conditions in that country and the fact that they are the No 1 side in Test cricket. But we are going there with our confidence level and morale high after a successful [limited-overs] tour of India.”

When asked to compare the two sides, Hafeez said the South Africans have a good combination in batting and pace bowling but Pakistan’s bowling is well-balanced.

“Our bowling is much more balanced than South Africa because we have an emerging pace bowler in young Junaid Khan, a vastly-experienced Umar Gul to spearhead the bowling. Mohammad Irfan has also made good progress to get selected in the Test side. He could be the surprise package there,” Hafeez said.

“And of course we don’t have to look beyond Saeed Ajmal because he is a proven match-winner and a world-class performer. Then there is Abdur Rehman to supplement the spin department and share some of the burden from Saeed. He too could play a vital role for Pakistan.”