Uncapped Kwena Maphaka picked for West Indies T20Is


Uncapped duo Kwena Maphaka and Jason Smith have been picked in the South African squad for the upcoming T20I series against West Indies. South Africa will play three T20Is in the series. This will be South Africa's first T20I since their loss to India in the T20 World Cup final at Barbados in June. Smith amassed 291 runs in the CSA T20 Challenge at an average of 41.57 while he also adds an extra pace bowling option. Kwena Maphaka, who played a pivotal role for South Africa in the U19 World Cup earlier this year, also featured for Mumbai Indians in the IPL. He was the Player of the tournament with 21 wickets in the U19 World Cup. A number of key players such as Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Quinton de Kock and Heinrich Klaasen have not been considered due to various reasons as stated by Head Coach Rob Walter. Nqaba Peter who made his T20I debut in May has been ruled out of the series as he is still recovering from a shoulder injury. "Several players were not considered for this series due to either injury, being in a conditioning block that is related to workload management, or their participation in ongoing T20 leagues. "This tour allows us to continue developing our player pool whilst maintaining the core of experienced players. It will also expose our emerging talent to quality international opposition, similar to the last time we played against the West Indies in May." South Africa T20I squad against West Indies Aiden Markram (captain), Ottneil Baartman, Nandre Burger, Donovan Ferreira, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Patrick Kruger, Kwena Maphaka, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen and Lizaad Williams