The Proteas white-ball coach, Rob Walter, has named his 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA.

Aidon Markram will captain the team, while Anrich Nortjé is set for his long-awaited return to international cricket.

The real surprise comes with the exclusion of Temba Bavuma, even though he hadn’t fired with the bat during the recent CSA T20 Challenge. His Lions teammate, Rassie van der Dussen was also somewhat of a surprise omission from the squad.

Walter told OFM Sport that playing in the USA for the first time will be very exciting.

“It's incredibly exciting to be going to a new venue that has literally been created for the World Cup,” said Walter.

“I think what it does, it creates a level playing field from a conditions point of view because no one really knows what we're going to get, so the ability to respond to those conditions quickly is going to be imperative.”

Walter added that over the last few days he has had to make a couple of very tough phone calls to inform players such as Bavuma that they are not going to the T20 World Cup for the three-match tour of the West Indies.

“As much as it is nice to make good phone calls, I really feel for the guys who miss out,” Walter added.

“You've got really good people who have been working hard on their game and they are really good cricketers. 

“They've trained hard to live their dream of going to the World Cup and I'm the one that has to tell them that it's not going to happen.

“I really do feel for those guys, and it's not easy. It's not easy for me, but it's certainly a lot harder for them to deal with the reality that it's not going to happen.”

The Proteas will face Sri Lanka in New York on 3 June in their opening match of the T20 World Cup.

Proteas squad - ICC Men’s T20 World Cup West Indies and USA 2024 - Aiden Markram (captain, Titans), Ottniel Baartman (Dolphins), Gerald Coetzee (Titans), Quinton de Kock (Titans), Bjorn Fortuin (Lions), Reeza Hendricks (Lions), Marco Jansen (Warriors), Heinrich Klaasen (Titans), Keshav Maharaj (Dolphins), David Miller (Dolphins), Anrich Nortje (Warriors), Kagiso Rabada (Lions) Ryan Rickelton (Lions), Tabraiz Shamsi (Titans) and Tristan Stubbs (Warriors).

Morgan Piek OFM Sport