South Africa and New Zealand Update T20 World Cup Squads
South Africa have confirmed major changes to their 2026 T20 World Cup squad. Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs will travel to India and Sri Lanka next month. However, Tony de Zorzi and Donovan Ferreira have been left out.
De Zorzi has not progressed as expected in his rehab from the right hamstring tear he sustained in December against India, while Ferreira fractured his shoulder while fielding in an SA20 match earlier in January.
Ryan Rickelton’s form in the SA20 had stirred major conversations among fans after he was left out of the initially announced T20 World Cup squad.
Cricket South Africa also clarified that the changes were driven by injuries, not players’ form in the SA20. But injury concerns still remain. David Miller picked up a groin injury while playing for Paarl Royals and is likely to miss their SA20 eliminator. Lungi Ngidi bowled only 2 overs in Qualifier 1 for Pretoria Capitals before leaving the field with a heavily strapped leg.
Ngidi is expected to recover in time for the T20 World Cup. That leaves Ottneil Baartman, the SA20’s leading wicket-taker with 17 wickets, outside the squad despite his good form.
Miller’s fitness is being monitored closely, with concerns around recovery time given his age. If he does get ruled out, Rubin Hermann could be considered, after he was added to the squad to play against West Indies.
Updated South Africa Squad for T20 World Cup
Aiden Markram (c), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Jason Smith, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs
New Zealand Forced Into Late T20 World Cup Change
New Zealand have also been hit by an injury setback ahead of the T20 World Cup. Fast bowler Adam Milne has been ruled out with a torn left hamstring. He picked up the injury on January 18 while playing for Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the SA20.
Milne has been replaced by Kyle Jamieson, who was earlier named as a travelling reserve. New Zealand will announce another reserve later.
Injuries continue to pile up for New Zealand. Will O’Rourke, Blair Tickner, Nathan Smith and Ben Sears are all sidelined. Mitchell Santner, Mark Chapman and Matt Henry have also returned recently from injuries and are currently playing the T20I series against India.
Lockie Ferguson is recovering from a calf injury and has not featured in the India series. Both Ferguson and Henry are also expected to miss parts of the T20 World Cup due to paternity leave.
Updated New Zealand Squad for T20 World Cup
Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Kyle Jamieson
Changes to T20 World Cup squads can be made freely until January 31. Any changes after that date will require approval from the ICC’s Event Technical Committee.
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