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AB de Villiers the eyebrow-raising omission from Proteas’ ODI squad

AB de Villiers of South Africa after day 3 of the 2nd Sunfoil Test match between South Africa and Australia at St Georges Park on March 11, 2018 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
AB de Villiers of South Africa after day 3 of the 2nd Sunfoil Test match between South Africa and Australia at St Georges Park on March 11, 2018 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
Image: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images

AB de Villiers’s name was an interesting and eyebrow-raising omission from the Proteas’ 24-man squad for the England limited overs series that will take place later this month.

While De Villiers is far from a spent force‚ at 36‚ prospects of him taking part in the 2023 Cricket World Cup in India are remote. But he remains a dangerous T20 customer with next year’s T20 World Cup a feasible destination.

A decent direction taken by newly-appointed selection convenor Victor Mpitsang was the choice of Warriors all-rounder Glenton Stuurman while most of the faces are familiar.

The likes of Kagiso Rabada‚ Quinton de Kock‚ Lungi Ngidi‚ Anrich Nortje and Faf du Plessis‚ who were on duty for their various Indian Premier League franchises with varying degrees of success‚ are also in the squad. Chris Morris was also another notable omission from the squad.

With the domestic season in red-ball mode‚ Mpitsang said the large squad gives the rest of the players an opportunity to get to grips with white-ball cricket.

“With the bio-secure environment‚ where movement in and out of the squad will be limited‚ we had to make sure that we had all our bases covered with the 24 players. It also gives the team the opportunity to play some inter-squad games just to make sure that they sharpen up those white-ball skills before the series start‚” Mpitsang said.

Cricket South Africa’s director of cricket Graeme Smith said England‚ who played consistent cricket despite the Covid-19 enforced lockdown‚ will be a stern test for the hosts.

The three ODIs and T20s will take place at Newlands and Boland Park in Paarl.

“This is an important season for the team‚ with an ICC T20 World Cup coming up late next year in India. I’m sure that the T20 series‚ in particular‚ is going to boast some explosive performances for cricket fans to enjoy at home.

“An ODI series against the reigning World Champions will always bring a level of excitement of its own. I’m looking forward to an exciting return to international cricket for our Proteas‚” Smith said.

Proteas squad for England tour

Quinton de Kock (captain‚ Titans)‚ Temba Bavuma (Lions)‚ Junior Dala (Titans)‚ Faf du Plessis (Titans)‚ Bjorn Fortuin (Lions)‚ Beuran Hendricks (Lions)‚ Reeza Hendricks (Imperial Lions)‚ Heinrich Klaasen (Titans)‚ George Linde (Cape Cobras)‚ Keshav Maharaj (Dolphins)‚ Janneman Malan (Cape Cobras)‚ David Miller (Dolphins)‚ Lungi Ngidi (Titans)‚ Anrich Nortje (Warriors)‚ Andile Phehlukwayo (Dolphins)‚ Dwaine Pretorius (Lions)‚ Kagiso Rabada (Lions)‚ Tabraiz Shamsi (Titans)‚ Lutho Sipamla (Lions)‚ Jon-Jon Smuts (Warriors)‚ Glenton Stuurman (Warriors)‚ Pite van Biljon (VKB Knights)‚ Rassie van der Dussen (Lions)‚ Kyle Verreynne (Cape Cobras).