South Africa recently named their 15-man World T20 squad that will be travelling to India next month for the competition with one glaring omission of fast bowler Morne Morkel.
While the squad holds ten of the original players that saw South Africa reach the semi-finals during the 2014 World T20, the announcement has seen the inclusion of five new faces to the team.
Fast bowlers Kyle Abbott and the young, hot-shot talent of Kagiso Rabada have made the cut, whilst batsman Rilee Rossouw and all-rounders Chris Morris and David Wiese have all made their way into the team, returning from stints with their domestic sides.
Meanwhile, Dale Steyn has been included in the squad despite still being out injured after picking up a bone stress injuring that has kept him out of play since December.
Morne Morkel’s omission has come as a surprise to many, despite only playing one T20 game since the 2014 World Cup competition. Should Steyn miss the cut-off time to return from injury, Morkel will likely see himself as front-runner to get the call-up as the “like-for-like” replacement, although the selectors are refusing to divulge any information about their back-up plans.
Regardless of his absence from T20 cricket, Morkel is experiencing one of the best seasons he has had during his 18 seasons as an international cricketer. He currently stands with an economy rate of 3.21 and 35 wickets to his name since October of 2015 over all three formats.
Aaron Phangiso has been selected ahead of Eddie Leie as the second specialist spin bowling option. Along with JP Duminy and Imran Tahir, he will offer South Africa multiple bowling variations on the Indian pitches. An added advantage to his inclusion is the success left-arm spin bowlers seem to find in these conditions.
Another fairly surprising inclusion to the squad is that of Farhaan Behardien. His performances of late, with both bat and ball, have fallen short of the level expected of an international cricketer.
Albie Morkel seemed to be the most obvious choice to take this all-rounder position but found himself left out of the planning stages after back spasms saw him sidelined and unable to play. He has since returned to his domestic team in the limited overs format and his excellent performances have certainly made a very strong case for him to get back into the team. Coach Russell Domingo has stated, however, that Morkel is considered more of a batting all-rounder, while David Wiese is a bowling all-rounder, fitting the plan of the team and therefore getting the nod ahead of him.
If that is the reason for the absence of Morkel and the inclusion of Wiese, it still does not explain the reasons behind the inclusion of Behardien, who will have entered the team as a batting all-rounder, but a far less impressive one than Morkel. A common suggestion regarding his inclusion has been centred around the ongoing controversy of the “colour-quota” within South African cricket.
Controversy aside, the team will get the opportunity to hone their skills as a unit when they face England for two T20 games mid-February as well as Australia for a further two internationals at the beginning of March. South Africa Cricket indicates that Steyn is expected to return to play when South Africa meet Australia.
The Proteas will once again be looking to put their World Cup demons to rest as they have been plagued with misfortune during the knock-out stages of major competitions. Recent successes over Bangladesh and India in the format will boost the confidence of the players as they look to secure ultimate victory.
South Africa World T20 Squad
Faf Du Plessis (Captain)
Kyle Abbott
Hashim Amla
Farhaan Behardien
Quinton de Kock
AB de Villiers
JP Duminy
Imran Tahir
David Miller
Chris Morris
Aaron Phangiso
Kagiso Rabada
Rilee Rossouw
Dale Steyn
David Wiese
