South Africa, on Friday, November 21st confirmed their ODI and T20I squads for the Test series with India which will conclude next week in Guwahati. The Proteas and the Men in blue will combat it out against each other between November 30 to December 6 for a three one-days matches in Ranchi, Raipur and Visakhapatnam. A five-T20I series between December 919 will follow the assignment. Matches are scheduled in Cuttack, New Chandigarh, Dharamshala, Lucknow and Ahmedabad.
The Test series against India was being led by Temba Bavuma and now the same player will lead the ODI games. In the interim the Rainbow Nation led by their star batsman Aiden Markram will be the NGT20 stage of the tour.
According to what coaches say, head coach of South Africa Shukri Conrad, the upcoming series of T20Is will be very critical to his team because it will enable his team to train on the T20 world cup in the coming year which India is co-hosting with Sri Lanka. Although Conrad is not denying that they will miss premier speedster Kagiso Rabada, he is looking forward to the task of who will replace him in his absence.
“We’re really looking forward to this white-ball tour for so many reasons. The T20I series in particular is an important opportunity for us to finalise our squad ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup, which will also be played in India,” Conrad was quoted as saying by Cricket World.
“Getting clarity on combinations and roles now is crucial as we build towards that tournament. Of course we’ll miss KG [Kagiso Rabada] on this tour, but as we saw in the first Test win over India, this group has depth, and that is one of our primary goals as a squad; to develop a unit filled with players who can step up at any time. Every time someone is unavailable, it opens the door for another player to stand up. We want to see more players stand up as we have been seeing so often over the past couple of years,” he added.
Conrad delighted to see Anrich Nortje return to T20I side
Anrich Nortje, who has not played for South Africa since the 2024 T20 World Cup final against India, has been named to the squad for the shorter format. Conrad hailed the seasoned pacer’s return.
“It’s also really good to welcome Anrich back into the T20I side after he missed the previous tours through injury. We know exactly what he brings so we’re really looking forward to working with him,” Conrad stated.
While the 50-over World Cup is scheduled for 2027, Conrad believes that the ODI series against India will provide insight into the team’s current situation.
“In the 50-over format, these matches will give us a clear picture of where we are as a group and what we need to keep building on as we shape the squad ahead of the 2027 World Cup,” Conrad mentioned.
South Africa’s ODI squad vs India: Temba Bavuma (C), Ottneil Baartman, Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Rubin Hermann, Keshav Maharaj, Marco Jansen, Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Ryan Rickelton, Prenelan Subrayen.
South Africa’s T20I squad vs India: Aiden Markram (C), Ottneil Baartman, Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Donovan Ferreira, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Tristan Stubbs.
