Tony de Zorzi has received his maiden Test call-up, while Ryan Rickelton, Senuran Muthusamy, Aiden Markram and Wiaan Mulder have been recalled for the West Indies series.
A major shuffle in the Test squad saw the omission of Theunis de Bruyn (now retired), Sarel Erwee, Rassie van der Dussen, Khaya Zondo and Lungi Ngidi. The captaincy of the Test squad has also been handed to Temba Bavuma.
The 32-year-old will replace Dean Elgar at the helm of the red-ball format and will continue to lead the One-Day International (ODI) side. He has, however, relinquished the T20 International (T20I) captaincy with the new leader of that team to be named as part of the white-ball squad to face the West Indies next month.
Bavuma’s first assignment will be to lead a 15-man squad in the two-match Betway Test series against the West Indies from 28 February – 12 March in Centurion and Johannesburg.
Elgar, meanwhile, remains available to play for the Proteas after captaining them in 15 Tests during a near-two-year reign.
“Cricket South Africa would like to welcome Temba as the new captain of the Proteas Men’s national team,” commented Director of Cricket (DoC) Enoch Nkwe. “He is a player that has vast captaincy experience both at domestic level and on the international stage having led both the ODI and T20I teams since March 2021 when he was appointed.
“We trust he will deliver on all our expectations and help carry the team forward after some excellent work by his predecessor Dean during the same period. At the same time, I would like to sincerely thank Dean for all his commitment to the role over the past two years. He helped the team navigate through some stormy waters and put them in a good position on the ICC World Test Championship table.
“Both men have made us proud with the work they have done within the wider Proteas group and look forward to the next step in what is a new era for the Proteas under the leadership of dual coaches Shukri Conrad and Rob Walter.”
As part of the restructuring, the DoC also confirmed that CSA was currently reviewing the National Selection Committee procedures, and had decided to release Victor Mpitsang of his role as National Convenor of Selectors. The current interim structure will see the head coaches of the respective teams playing a leading role in squad selections going forward.
“We also felt this was an opportune time to reassess the selection team and have decided to make some changes that we expect will help us with planning better in the future,” Nkwe explained. “In this regard, we thank Victor for the time he has invested with the national team over the last few years and wish him well for the future.”
Temba Bavuma (captain, DP World Lions), Gerald Coetzee (ITEC Knights), Tony de Zorzi (Six Gun Grill Western Province), Dean Elgar (Momentum Multiply Titans), Simon Harmer (Momentum Multiply Titans), Marco Jansen (Dafabet Warriors), Heinrich Klaasen (Momentum Multiply Titans), Keshav Maharaj (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Aiden Markram (Momentum Multiply Titans), Wiaan Mulder (DP World Lions), Senuran Muthusamy (North West Dragons), Anrich Nortje (Dafabet Warriors), Keegan Petersen (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Kagiso Rabada (DP World Lions), Ryan Rickelton (DP World Lions).]
South Africa Betway Test Series against West Indies
28 February – 04 March
South Africa vs West Indies – SuperSport Park, Centurion
08 – 12 March
South Africa vs West Indies – DP World Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Both matches to start at 10:00.
