South Africa's Test and T20 captain Faf Du Plessis, while talking to Dawn on Saturday, said that he's happy to play a small part in bringing cricket back to Pakistan.

"I imagine that the Pakistani people would be super excited because they've been waiting for this for a lot of years," Du Plessis said, adding that he understands that the World XI coming to Pakistan is a "huge thing" for the country.

Du Plessis, who will captain the World XI side in a three-match T20 series in Lahore mid-September, said that he's "looking forward to the whole experience", and that his teammate and Pakistani-origin spinner Imran Tahir has promised him a lot of different food experiences.

"It would be really fun for us as a team to go there and be a part of this experience of almost being pioneers of bringing cricket back to Pakistan," he said.

Remembering his experience of visiting Pakistan with the Under-19 Proteas side, he recalled the weather being "extremely hot" but was hopeful of a better experience this time around as the matches will be played in the evening.

Players in the World XI squad include South Africa’s premier batsman Hashim Amla, his team-mate leg-spinner Imran Tahir, the African country’s middle-order batsman David Miller and its pace spearhead Morne Morkel, former West Indies captain and T20 specialist Darren Sammy who also led Peshawar Zalmi to victory in this year’s Pakistan Super League final, dashing Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal, former England captain Paul Collingwood and Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera.

Pakistan side will be captained by Sarfraz Ahmed.