No place for rising stars in Proteas squad for World Cup?

There is unlikely to be place for rising stars Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Donovan Ferreira and Gerald Coetzee when Proteas white-ball coach Rob Walter names his 15 men on Tuesday for the 50-overs Cricket World Cup taking place in India from early next month.

Also, with Keshav Maharaj fit again and back in action he is likely to get the nod as the team’s frontline spinner, though Tabraiz Shamsi and Bjorn Fortuin are also in the selection mix. One of them won’t make the final squad.

‘Tough calls’

“Whenever you’re announcing a squad, be it for a series or a World Cup, there are always tough calls that have to be made,” said Walter ahead of the announcement.

“The better your system is producing, the better the player that misses out, if that makes sense. So if we have good players missing out it means the system is strong and our group of players are strong.

“We’re not there yet, as we learned in this (three-match T20 series against Australia). Our next best have work to do and we’ve got work to do as a collective to be better.

“The World Cup announcement is obviously significant and the young guys who have been through the system in these three (T20) games and have been working away tirelessly in the winter is more exciting for me than anything else.

“Obviously they can’t all get a go at the same time but the future is bright if we are able to manage them well.”

Seniors

Following the Proteas’ 3-0 whitewash in the T20 series, Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada all return to the 50-overs team for the five-match ODI series against Australia, starting on Thursday and they’re all likely to be included in the World Cup squad.

Temba Bavuma will captain the Proteas’ World Cup group, which should also include the likes of Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Wayne Parnell, Sisanda Magala, and Lungi Ngidi.

Possible squad: Temba Bavuma (capt), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Sisanda Magala, Wayne Parnell, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Bjorn Fortuin