The Proteas squad for the upcoming tour of Namibia might look like an opportunity to rest some senior players and give others international experience.
But look a little deeper and there could be much more to these selections.
When you put the Proteas squad alongside the SA A squads selected to face Bangladesh A, we start to get a clearer picture of the competition developing beneath South Africa’s first-choice XI.
Who is genuinely next in line?
Which players are being given an opportunity to push themselves into Shukri Conrad’s plans? And, with the 2027 World Cup approaching, which positions might still be up for grabs?
One area Conrad specifically highlighted was spin.
Speaking about Nqaba Peter, Conrad described wrist-spinners as a “rare breed” before making an interesting statement about the bigger picture:
“I think the race is on for spinners’ berths for the World Cup and this is the first part of that race.”
That changes how we can look at this tour.
It isn’t simply about Namibia. It’s another opportunity for Conrad to test the depth available to him and find out which players can put genuine pressure on those currently ahead of them.
In this episode of CFM Weekly, Khalid Mohidin and James King go deeper into the Proteas and SA A selections, the players who could be next in line, the positions still open for competition and what the squads could tell us about Conrad’s thinking ahead of 2027.
Watch the full discussion below and let us know: which player do you think has the biggest opportunity to push himself into the Proteas’ World Cup plans?
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