Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi and batsmen Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen have not been included in South Africa’s squad for next month’s T20 World Cup.
Bavuma was in the squad for the 2022 T20 World Cup, but has been overlooked this time. Bavuma used to be South Africa’s T20I captain.
Van der Dussen has scored the second-most runs in T20 cricket across the globe this year. Only Pakistan’s Babar Azam has scored more in 2024.
Ngidi has been named among the playing reserves, but hasn’t been included in the 15-man squad.
“As much as it is nice to make good phone calls, I really feel for the guys who miss out,” OFM quoted Proteas limited-overs coach Rob Walter as saying.
“You’ve got really good people who have been working hard on their game and they are really good cricketers.
“They’ve trained hard to live their dream of going to the T20 World Cup and I’m the one that has to tell them that it’s not going to happen.
“Really do feel for those guys, and it’s not easy. It’s not easy for me, but it’s certainly a lot harder for them to deal with that reality that it’s not going to happen.”
The United States of America’s Dallas and New York will co-host this year’s T20 World Cup with the West Indies.
“It’s incredibly exciting to be going to a new venue that has literally been created for the T20 World Cup,” added Walter.
“I think what it does, it creates a level playing field from a conditions point of view because no-one really knows what we’re going to get, so the ability to respond to those conditions quickly is going to be imperative.”
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