NEWS: Temba Bavuma misses out as Proteas T20 World Cup squad announced

There were some notable absentees as former captain Themba Bavuma, Faf du Plessis and Lungi Ngidi missed out on selection, with the latter named as part of the two-man travelling reserves.

The squad features two T20 debutants in Ryan Rickelton and Ottniel Baartman.

Rickelton finished as the leading run-scorer in this season’s SA20, hitting 530 runs at an average of 58.88 for MI Cape Town, while Baartman was the top wicket-taker in the tournament with 18 wickets in eight matches for defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape.

The Proteas have also included three specialists spinners with Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi joined by Bjorn Fortuin.

The pace attack will be led by Kagiso Rabada, supported by Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee while the fit-again Anrich Nortje also finds a place in the 15-man squad.

The Proteas will have a power-packed batting line-up at the global tournament with Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller and Tristan Stubbs all included.

“Selecting this group was extremely tough considering the amount of T20 cricket that has been played recently and the form that has been on show.

“I want to congratulate the two uncapped players, Ryan and Ottniel, on their selection. We have seen some incredible performances from our players in 2024 and that made my job very tough indeed.

“I am nonetheless proud and confident that we have named the strongest possible squad that no doubt has every chance of success in the West Indies and USA,” coach Rob Walter said.

The Proteas are drawn in Group D alongside Bangladesh, Nepal, the Netherlands and Sri Lanka.

The ninth edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which will be a 20-team event is set to take place from 1 to 29 June 2024.

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.