Cricket South Africa have announced their squad for the 2021 T20 World Cup taking place in the United Arab Emirates and Oman from October 17 to November 14 2021.
There was endless speculation about who will form part of the main 15-man squad, with fans being very vocal about who they would like to see on the plane to the UAE.
Observing the fans’ comments leading up to this announcement, there was a major call for Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir and Chris Morris to be named in the highly anticipated team. Unfortunately, none of these world superstars were selected.
Temba Bavuma was named as captain despite a recent injury scare that ruled him out of the Sri Lanka white-ball tour.
Aiden Markram and Keshav Maharaj are also notable inclusions after their recent form. George Linde dropped to the reserves, a selection that may have surprised some given his bowling efforts in recent tours.
South Africa qualified automatically for the tournament by virtue of their top eight position in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings. The Super 12 section of the event will take place from 23 October to 14 November with South Africa playing in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
“The National Selection Panel and I are extremely excited to announce this squad, which we believe is a world-beating squad. It has been a busy last few months for the Proteas and we have had enough time to assess our options and we are pleased with the outcome,” said CSA Convenor of Selectors, Victor Mpitsang.
CSA Acting CEO, Mr Pholetsi Moseki commented saying: “Congratulations to our selectors on putting a competitive squad together, while taking injuries, form and team balance into account. Good luck to our team, whom I am sure will make our nation proud.”
Mpitsang added that “there is no better time than now for us to bring home the trophy and bring the nation together in a way that only sport can. We hope that South Africans will rally behind this team and cheer them all the way to the final.”
“We are confident that we have a well-balanced and well thought out World Cup squad, with reserve players that are more than capable and up to the job if called up for it. The team has blossomed well under the leadership of Temba Bavuma and we look forward to seeing his return to the international stage once he is fully recovered from injury.
“On behalf of the National Selection Panel, I would like to wish Temba and coach, Mark Boucher all of the very best as the team continues to finalise its preparation in Sri Lanka and as Temba looks to make a full recovery from his injury,” he said.
Mpitsang said the inclusion of Maharaj provides the team with an extra string to its spinning bow, together with his proven leadership credentials.
“Kesh is an excellent leader. He has the backing of the team and us as a Panel. He has more than proven his leadership skills in the Dolphins set up and reinforced our good decision during the ODI series against Sri Lanka which ended on Tuesday.
“His exemplary captaincy is what we believe is in the best interests of the team’s stability during this last international series that the team gets to play ahead of the World Cup.”
Further good news is that captain Temba Bavuma is expected to be declared fit in time for the tournament.
“The prognosis is good and we are delighted to have such a strong leader at the helm of our unified team, which is committed to excelling and making all South Africans proud,” concludes Moseki.
FULL SQUAD:
Temba Bavuma (c)
Aiden Markram
Heinrich Klaasen
Reeza Hendricks
David Miller
Dwaine Pretorius
Quinton de Kock
Kagiso Rabada
Wiaan Mulder
Rassie van der Dussen
Tabraiz Shamsi
Keshav Maharaj
Lungi Ngidi
Anrich Nortje
Bjorn Fortuin
Reserves: George Linde, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lizaad Williams
