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Heinrich Klaasen to lead South Africa for Pakistan T20Is; Anrich Nortje and Tabraiz Shamsi return

In the absence of Aiden Markram, who is currently involved in the Test series against Sri Lanka, Heinrich Klaasen will lead South Africa in their home T20I series against Pakistan.

Apart from Markram, several other all-format players – such as Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada and Tristan Stubbs – will miss the Pakistan T20Is, scheduled between December 10 and 14, with the second Test against Sri Lanka concluding on December 9. These players will, however, be a part of the ODI series against Pakistan in early 2025, which will be part of their last leg of preparations for the Champions Trophy.

That apart, Anrich Nortje and Tabraiz Shamsi have returned to the T20I side for the first time since the T20 World Cup in June. Allrounder George Linde has also been named in the squad, after having last played a T20I in July 2021, against Ireland. He has played 14 T20Is and had an impressive performance in this season’s CSA T20 Challenge, scoring 171 runs at a strike rate of 178.12 and claiming nine wickets at an average of 18.33.

“Anrich is very much in line for the Champions Trophy,” South Africa’s white-ball head coach Rob Walter said. “He has a lot of experience so playing lots of 50-over cricket is not necessary. Before that, he will be very active in the SA20 and in this series. I am not worried about him from a playing point of view. He is not a young cricketer, he understands his game. There’s enough cricket between now and then for him to be selected.”

He added that South Africa’s No. 7 is normally filled with a seaming allrounder but they “needed to look for a spinning allrounder and George was someone who filled that role.”

South Africa have not won a single bilateral series this year under Walter, and he was asked if he felt under the pump. “I feel the most pressure from myself personally. I want the team to be better, expect the team to play better and that starts with me as the head coach. We are in the results business.”

On Andile Simelane, who is one of the three seam-bowling allrounders in the squad along with Donovan Ferreira and Patrick Kruger, he said, “I’m very excited about Andile. He has got some wonderful attributes. The first ball he faced in international cricket he hit out of Kingsmead. He has got some power with the bat, he took some key wickets, he has a wonderful overall skill set that is still in its infancy. We want to keep giving him opportunities, keep growing his game.”

The squad will begin preparations with a two-day camp at the Centre of Excellence in Pretoria from December 6-8. On Sunday, they will head to Durban where the first match will be played, followed by back-to-back games in Centurion and Johannesburg on December 13 and 14, respectively.

South Africa T20I squad for Pakistan series

Heinrich Klaasen (capt), Ottneil Baartman, Matthew Breetzke*, Donovan Ferreira, Reeza Hendricks, Patrick Kruger, George Linde, Kwena Maphaka*, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Nqaba Peter, Ryan Rickelton*, Tabraiz Shamsi**, Andile Simelane, Rassie van der Dussen

*Matthew Breetzke, Kwena Maphaka and Ryan Rickelton will join the squad following their Test commitments against Sri Lanka
**Tabraiz Shamsi’s participation in the ongoing Global Super League in Guyana may affect his availability for the first T20I

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