Markram leads 15-man Proteas T20 World Cup squad, two debutants included

• Proteas white-ball coach Rob Walter named his 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA.
• Ryan Rickelton was awarded for his T20 form, while Ottniel Baartman also got a nod.
• The Proteas are drawn in Group D alongside Bangladesh, Nepal, the Netherlands and Sri Lanka.
• For more on the Proteas, visit News24's dedicated section.

Proteas white-ball coach Rob Walter on Tuesday named his 15-man squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, scheduled from 1-29 June in the West Indies and USA.

Aiden Markram will captain the side in what will be his first World Cup assignment as skipper. The South African squad features two T20I debutants Ryan Rickelton Ottniel Baartman.

There was no room in the squad for former captain Temba Bavuma or veteran Faf du Plessis, while Lungi Ngidi also misses out. 

Rickelton finished as the leading run-scorer of the second edition of the SA20 with 530 runs at an average of 58.88 for MI Cape Town, while fast-bowler Baartman took 18 wickets in eight matches for defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape and is currently with Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Delhi Capitals.

The Proteas will also benefit from the expertise of batters Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller and Tristan Stubbs, who has had a stellar IPL with the Delhi Capitals.

Leading the pace attack will be Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, supported by Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee. Other notable selections include three front-line spinners in CSA T20 Challenge winning captain Bjorn Fortuin, Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi.

Pace pair Nandre Burger and Ngidi have been named as the travelling reserves.

"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," said Walter.

"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."

The obvious difficulty ahead of the World Cup will see the Proteas have little time together as a group before 1 June with the Indian Premier League (IPL) final scheduled for 26 May. 

The majority of the Proteas have been travelling around India representing their various franchises, including T20 captain Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Gerald Coetzee and Marco Jansen.

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

The Proteas will begin their campaign against Sri Lanka on 3 June at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York at 16:30 (SA time).

The Netherlands famously beat South Africa at the 2023 tournament, which saw Temba Bavuma's charges dumped out of the tournament before the knock-out stages.

READ | Cricket SA unveils Proteas' kit for T20 World Cup

Meanwhile, Walter has also named a provisional squad for the preceding three-match T20I series against West Indies in May.

The provisional squad will assemble for a week-long camp from 13-17 May at the Centre of Excellence in Pretoria, with the final squad to be announced prior to their departure on 18 May.

South Africa's T20I provisional squad against West Indies:

Matthew Breetzke (Warriors), Bjorn Fortuin (Lions), Reeza Hendricks (Lions), Patrick Kruger (Warriors), Wiaan Mulder (Lions), Lungi Ngidi (Titans), Nqaba Peter (Lions), Ryan Rickelton (Lions), Andile Phehlukwayo (Dolphins), Tabraiz Shamsi (MTitans) and Rassie van der Dussen (Lions)