South Africa announced their 15-member squad on Tuesday (April 30) for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 in June. Aiden Markram has been named as the skipper and he will lead the team for the first time in an ICC event. (Full IPL Coverage | More Cricket News)
Fast bowler Anrich Nortje and wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock have both been included in the squad. The duo was recently excluded from Cricket South Africa's central contract list. Nortje has been missing from international action since September 2023 due to a back injury, while De Kock had announced his retirement from ODIs after the 2023 ODI World Cup, having already bid adieu to Test cricket in 2022.
Ryan Rickelton and Ottniel Baartman are the two uncapped T20I players in the squad. Both have been rewarded for their strong performance in the recent SA20 league. Rickelton was the top run-scorer in the tournament with 530 runs at an average of 58.88 and strike rate of 173.77 for MI Cape Town, and Baartman picked up 18 wickets in eight games for Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
The Proteas batting line-up boasts of Markram, De Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller and Tristan Stubbs.
The seam-bowling attack will be spearheaded by Kagiso Rabada and Nortje, and supported by Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee. Bjorn Fortuin, Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi will be the spin-bowling options.
South Africa commence their T20 World Cup campaign on 3 June, against Sri Lanka in New York.
South Africa squad: Aiden Markram (c), Ottniel Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs.
Travelling reserves: Nandre Burger and Lungi Ngidi.
