South Africa have named a noticeably reshaped squad for next month’s T20I tri-series in Zimbabwe, with Rassie van der Dussen standing in for the rested Aiden Markram and speedster Anrich Nortje again absent through a stress-related back problem.
Fit-again quicks Gerald Coetzee and Nandre Burger return after hamstring-groin and lower-back issues kept them out for eight and eleven months respectively. Both are currently tuning up in Major League Cricket, USA.
Markram is one of several multi-format regulars handed a breather. Kagiso Rabada, David Miller, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj – who will captain the Test side on the same tour – are also missing, while Heinrich Klaasen has retired from international duty. Wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi has been left out pending a discussion with head coach Shukri Conrad.
Conrad, speaking from Harare, was clear about the thinking: “The all-format guys have been rested. If you go back to what their last couple of months have looked like, they played Test Series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan back home, then they had SA20, then they went straight from there into an IPL, and the IPL went on for a bit longer. Then we had the World Test Championship Final. Their last couple of months have been chock-a-block. If you cast your eye on what the next few months look like for us, starting with this series and then a couple of days after we go to Australia and England, we felt it was the best thing for them to freshen up.”
“That was the big thing for me, for them to get a really good break away from cricket and freshen up. Then also use this opportunity to look at guys that potentially could stake a claim to make that T20 World Cup squad. Our sights are firmly now on what that T20 World Cup squad could look like.”
Van der Dussen, previously caretaker on the 2024 West Indies tour, leads a 15-strong group that blends experience – Reeza Hendricks and Lungi Ngidi among them – with four potential debutants. Left-hander Lhuan-dre Pretorius, fresh from a breakout SA20 and selected for the concurrent Test series, is joined by wicketkeeper-batter Rubin Hermann, left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy and seamer-all-rounder Corbin Bosch.
On Pretorius, Conrad added: “He’s a special breed. He’s come up, played in the U19 World Cup, did really well there, debuted in the SA20 and was phenomenal there. Then he played first-class cricket for the Titans, scored a hundred on debut, and a hundred in the final, so that says that there’s something special about him. We’re obviously excited to have him and some of the other younger bucks in the set-up and to see what his journey is going to look like going forward.”
The tri-series, which also features New Zealand, is Conrad’s first limited-overs assignment since taking charge of all South African men’s teams through to 2027. With a World T20 on the horizon next year, every match doubles as an audition.
South Africa squad: Rassie van der Dussen (capt), Reeza Hendricks, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Rubin Hermann, David Bedingham, Matthew Breetzke, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Corbin Bosch, Gerald Coetzee, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi, Beuran Hendricks, Bjorn Fortuin, Ottneil Baartman.
* uncapped
Fixtures and exact venues will be confirmed by Zimbabwe Cricket later this week.
