Three players added to Proteas squad for West Indies series

Three players have been added to the final Proteas squad for next week’s T20 series against West Indies, which will be led by top-order batter Rassie van der Dussen.

With the Indian Premier League (IPL) heading towards the playoff stages to be contested next week, it was confirmed on Friday that a trio of players had been included in the SA side after being released from their franchises. They were experienced batter Quinton de Kock (Lucknow Super Giants) and fast bowlers Anrich Nortje (Delhi Capitals) and Gerald Coetzee (Mumbai Indians).

With his Sunrisers Hyderabad team targeting a place in the knockouts in the closing stages of the league phase of the IPL this weekend, regular Proteas captain Aiden Markram was not included in the national squad for the West Indies series.

In his place, it was confirmed Van der Dussen (who was already in the squad to face West Indies) would guide the team in next week’s campaign, which was set to conclude a week before the start of the T20 World Cup.

‘A wealth of experience’

National limited overs coach Rob Walter felt Van der Dussen, who was not in the World Cup squad, was the right man to lead the team against their hosts in Jamaica.

“It is a relatively inexperienced group, and Rassie brings a wealth of experience, so we feel he’ll be good in the leadership space and offer huge value,” Walter said.

South Africa will face West Indies in three T20 Internationals in Kingston next week, on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

SA squad

Rassie van der Dussen (captain), Ottneil Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Matthew Breetzke, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Patrick Kruger, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Nqaba Peter, Ryan Rickelton, Andile Phehlukwayo, Tabraiz Shamsi