South Africa Pick Three Spinners, Leave Out Malan and du Plessis in World Cup T20 Squad

Sportsdesk September 9, 2021 2 min read

South Africa have picked three full-time spinners in their 15-member squad for the Twenty20 World Cup 2021.

However, top-order batsman Janneman Malan and the former captain, Faf du Plessis have failed to make the cut in the 15-man squad that will travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next month for the T20 World Cup.

Dynamic middle-order batsman Temba Bavuma, who is recovering from an injury, will lead the side with swashbuckling opener Quinton de Kock as his deputy. Aiden Markram has been selected as the third-choice opener for the mega event.

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The powerful Malan has averaged 92 with the bat in his first 10 one-day internationals, including three centuries, but could not force his way into the squad in the shorter format despite his established six-hitting ability.

🇿🇦 Your 18-man extended #T20World #Proteas squad heading to the ICC Men's #T20WorldCup!#BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/KD9DZPWQOe

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) September 9, 2021

Malan had a good run in the ODIs but he wasn’t as successful recently in the shortest format; although he can surely hit the ball big. However, his lack of form paved the way for Markram in the final fifteen. The fact that he can bowl part-time spin also validates his selection.

The Protease have picked three frontline spinners; Keshav Maharaj, Bjorn Fortuin, and the world’s number one T20 bowler Tabraiz Shamsi keeping the amount of spin on offer in the Gulf countries.

Being in the top five of the ICC T20 Rankings, South Africa go straight into the ‘Super 12’ stage of the event. They are placed in Group 1, also referred to as the Group of Death for having teams like England Australia, and West Indies in it.