On January 2, Cricket South Africa announced the squad for the T20 World Cup 2026. The CSA decided to include some surprising names in the team, and hence, a few players were excluded. Tony de Zorzi and Jason Smith have been named in the squad.
de Zorzi’s T20I career is just two matches old, having made his T20I debut in October last year. He has played 78 T20 matches and has amassed 1387 runs at a strike rate of 119.26. Just like de Zorzi, Smith has played two T20I games for the Proteas.
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Corbin Bosch, Kewna Maphaka, Dewald Brevis, George Linde, and Donovan Ferreira are the other players who have been picked in the team. It is the first time these players have been picked in a World Cup squad. Their inclusion meant players like Reeza Hendricks, Ryan Rickelton, and Tristan Stubbs didn’t find a place in the team. Ottneil Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Bjorn Fortuin, and Tabraiz Shamsi have also been left out of the squad.
Six of these seven players are currently playing in the SA20. Shamsi played in the ILT20 recently and made his BBL debut on January 4. Stubbs is the captain of the two-time SA20 champions, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, and an essential part of the Delhi Capitals in the IPL.
Too early to judge’: Moroney urges caution over SA20 influence on selections
A decent performance in a league like SA20 might mean automatic selection for the T20 World Cup. However, convenor selector Patrick Moroney has a different perspective. During the press conference, Moroney answered questions related to selection and SA20.
“It’s very early doors for the [SA20], and the reality of it is it’s still fairly domestic with a lot of domestic guys playing against each other. Guys like Rickleton are expected to perform well at this level. The international step up is significantly higher.
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“When you look at those [SA20] performances you might be taking your eye off the ball in your thought processes. It is good to have the tournament, but I don’t think it’s played a significant role in selecting the squad.
We’re hoping our players will use this opportunity to get into better nick, and that that will give us the advantage when we play the Windies [in three home T20Is from January 27 to February 1] before we depart for India.”
South Africa finished as runner-up in the previous T20 World Cup. They lost the final in 2024 against India. Only seven of the 15 players from the 2024 edition have been picked for the 2026 World Cup. South Africa is in Group D, along with Canada, New Zealand, the UAE, and Afghanistan. They will start their campaign against Canada on February 9.
South Africa’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2026
Aiden Markram (c), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock (wk), Tony de Zorzi, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Jason Smith
