South Africa have appointed Keshav Maharaj as the captain of the T20I for the five-match series against New Zealand away from home next month. The series is set to be played from March 15 to 25, with the T20 World Cup concluding only on March 8. Also, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to commence on March 26 and for the same reason, the World Cup and IPL-bound players have been rested for this series.
Maharaj, George Linde and Jason Smith are the only players currently in India who will be travelling to New Zealand. There are a total of five uncapped players in the squad - Connor Esterhuizen, Dian Forrester, Jordan Hermann, Eathan Bosch and Nqobani Mokoena.
Notably, Ottneil Baartman and Gerald Coetzee, who were not picked for the T20 World Cup, return to the setup, while Tony de Zorzi also makes a comeback after recovering from injury.
South Africa head coach's view on the squad
"With this series taking place directly after the T20 World Cup, the majority of that squad will return home, which creates a great opportunity for this group of players to step into the international environment and show what they're about at this level. Keshav has experience captaining the Proteas and has led two teams to the SA20 finals. His leadership and calm presence make him the ideal person to lead this group on this tour.
"The battng unit is particularly exciting for this tour. Tony brings experience to the top order, while Connor, Dian and Jordan have all demonstrated the ability to play positive, attacking cricket for their domestic teams. Nqobani showed during SA20 that he is an exciting young quick with the ability to make an impact and this series will give him the perfect opportunity to expose him to the international setup," South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad said.
Meanwhile, South Africa women's side is also touring New Zealand for five T20Is and three ODIs. The T20I series will be played simultaneously with the men's team.
South Africa squad for T20I seires vs New Zealand
Keshav Maharaj (capt), Ottneil Baartman, Eathan Bosch, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Connor Esterhuizen, Dian Forrester, Jordan Hermann, Rubin Hermann, George Linde, Nqobani Mokoena, Andile Simelane, Lutho Sipamla, Prenelan Subrayen, and Jason Smith
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