South Africa has picked a strong team for the Men's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka next February and March.
The cricket selectors chose Kagiso Rabada as the main fast bowler. He recently came back from a rib injury and did well in his first game for MI Cape Town in the SA20 league on New Year's Eve. In that match, he took two wickets and gave away 48 runs.
Quinton de Kock is back in the team as an opener. He had left international cricket for a while but said he was ready to play again in October.
The fast bowling group has Rabada along with Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Lungi Ngidi, and young player Kwena Maphaka. Seven players will play their first World Cup match. They are batters Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, and Jason Smith. The allrounders are George Linde and Donovan Ferreira.
The fast bowlers are Bosch and Maphaka. Aiden Markram is still the T20 captain. Only seven players from the 2024 final team that lost to India are in this squad.
De Kock is with other experienced players from that final like David Miller, Keshav Maharaj, Jansen, Rabada, and Nortje. Some well-known players did not make the team. Heinrich Klaasen has quit international cricket.
Others like Reeza Hendricks, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Ottneil Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Bjorn Fortuin, and Tabraiz Shamsi are in T20 leagues such as SA20, ILT20, or BBL but were not selected. Left-arm fast bowler Nandre Burger was almost picked but Nortje took his place.
Tony de Zorzi is an unexpected choice. He has not played for a month because of a hamstring injury from an ODI against India. But selectors think his form before the injury fits well for pitches in the subcontinent.
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He might bat at number three once he is fully fit. Jason Smith has only five international matches but earned his spot with big hitting. He scored an unbeaten 68 runs off 19 balls in the CSAT20 Challenge. For MI Cape Town, he made 41 off 14 balls. He can also bowl seam, which helps the team. He is recovering from a small injury.
Patrick Moroney, the selection convener, said the choices were hard. The team blends old hands with new talent to do well in India and Sri Lanka. For openers, they picked de Kock with Markram instead of Rickelton.
In the middle order, they want strong left-hander Miller with Brevis and Ferreira. That left out Stubbs. For spin bowling, left-armers Maharaj and Linde will handle it. Markram and wicketkeeper Ferreira can bowl off-spin too. Shamsi may have played his last international game because of issues with his contract.
This is the first white-ball tournament under coach Shukri Conrad, who started in July for all formats. His staff includes batting coach Ashwell Prince, bowling coach Piet Botha, fielding coach Kruger van Wyk, and T20 expert Albie Morkel. Most players will get match practice in SA20 this month.
Then they play three T20 matches at home against West Indies. South Africa's World Cup starts on February 9 against Canada. After that, they face Afghanistan, New Zealand, and UAE in the group stage.
The full South Africa T20 World Cup squad is: Aiden Markram (captain), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Tony de Zorzi, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada,Jason Smith.