Correctly managing exciting talent Kwena Maphaka high on Proteas ‘to do’ list

Proteas white-ball coach Rob Walter is extremely excited to see what young up-and-coming talent Kwena Maphaka can produce, but he admits his main focus will be to manage the player correctly as he launches his international career.

Maphaka is just 18 years old and still in matric, but he is in line to make his senior Proteas debut during their three-match T20I series against the West Indies in the Caribbean starting on Friday, after he was included in a largely inexperienced squad for the series.

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It has been an incredible year for Maphaka, after he burst to prominence at the U19 World Cup, picking up 21 wickets in just six matches, to end the tournament as the top wicket taker.

He then represented the Lions in the CSA T20 competition, where he made some telling contributions including helping his team win a super over, before he was signed to the Mumbai Indians and made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut.

He could now add to that success if he is selected to feature in one of the Proteas’ three T20 games against the hosts in Trinidad and Tobago.

Manage expectations

At a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Walter was asked how he intended to manage the expectations and pressure on Maphaka, especially after seeing how Dewald Brevis suffered a similar stunning rise to prominence after the 2022 U19 World Cup, but has been unable to kick on as expected since.

“It certainly is a challenge that I am fully aware of, and it is extremely important for us to manage the players correctly. It isn’t about anything else other than making sure that we give the players the best opportunity for success,” explained Walter.

“So for me this was just one part of the journey and one part of giving him (Maphaka) the best chance to perform for South Africa whenever that presents itself.

“Obviously as a young guy it will be up to him and his support group, of which we are just one portion, to keep things in perspective. The media reports sometimes do create a bit of pressure for the young guys, especially if they read social media,” Walter added.

“So we need to keep him grounded and make sure he understands that he is under no time pressure. There is no need to speed this thing along. We just need to assist him and support him in the best way possible, and take care of him as an individual which is foremost for us.”

Walter impressed

Walter is already very impressed with Maphaka, who he saw bowl live (in person) for the first time at a training session a few days ago, having only seen him bowl on TV and in recorded footage before that.

“He is a wonderfully calm and kind guy. He seems to have his head screwed on very well. We’ve seen him perform for the Lions in the domestic competition, he has bowled super overs and won games for them there,” said Walter.

“He bowled really well in the U19 World Cup. He also ran out for the Mumbai Indians (in the IPL) as a schoolboy. So he has already done some amazing things for a young guy and has a very cool perspective on it all.

“I was chatting to him just yesterday about the IPL experience and as much as the performance wasn’t there, there aren’t many schoolboys who can say they’ve run out at a full Wankhede (Stadium) and got that under the belt. So skill set aside I love his mindset and calmness.

“We see him as a strong potential for the Proteas moving forward and this was an ideal opportunity to get him on tour and get him into the system, and give him an idea of what his potential is.”