OPINION: It’s good to see Proteas players prioritising international matches

It is good for a change to see that Proteas players are largely prioritising their international commitments over their commitments to T20 leagues around the world.

Although it may just be for now, it seems that the Proteas star players will be giving full consideration to their ODI series against the West Indies and the Netherlands this month.

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For the first two games of the West Indies ODI series a number of players are being rested, however, which will open the door for some of the fringe players to get a chance to shine.

This will give new white ball coach Rob Walter a good idea of his depth ahead of the ODI world cup later in the year.

Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram are being rested for the first two games and will join the squad for the third ODI, while Keshav Maharaj and Wiaan Mulder have been completely ruled out through injury, with Wayne Parnell and Tabraiz Shamsi replacing them.

Fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje are both being rested for the full Windies ODI series and will be available for the T20I series.

David Miller

The only Proteas player unavailable for the first two games due to outside commitments is David Miller who is playing in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and will only join up with the side for the third ODI.

Rilee Roussouw is also playing in the PSL, but he is currently only playing T20I’s for the Proteas and will be available for their T20I series against the Windies.

Following the Windies ODI and T20I series the Proteas head into a massively important two-game ODI series against the Netherlands, with those matches forming part of the ICC World Cup ODI Super League.

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The Proteas are on the verge of being knocked out of automatic qualification for the showpiece event and need to win both games against the Netherlands to stay in the hunt.

It has thus been confirmed that Indian Premier League regulars such as Rabada, Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, Quinton de Kock, Nortje, Miller, and Lungi Ngidi will be fully available for the Netherlands series which is great news for SA cricket.