“We are looking forward to some good performances in this relatively short tour”
Faf du Plessis and Rassie van der Dussen will bolster South Africa’s batting for the brief three-match ODI series against India later this month.
The pair were “rested” for the series against Australia which will resume in Bloemfontein tomorrow. In their absence, Heinrich Klaasen and Kyle Verreynne both starred for the Proteas in the series opening win against the Australians in Paarl last Saturday.
Both of those players have retained their spots as the selectors continue to assess talent with the bigger picture of the 2023 World Cup, that will be played in India, in mind.
Left-arm spinner George Linde was called up to the ODI squad for the first time in place of Tabraiz Shamsi who will miss the tour to support his wife Khadija, who is soon to give birth to the couple’s first child.
Linde made his Test debut in India last year, and could be an important addition to the team for whom a spin bowling all-rounder will be a vital component.
Linde has batted in the middle order for the Cape Cobras in this season’ One-Day Cup, producing reasonable returns including one half-century.
“It is exciting to see the amount of competition for spots that we have within the team and in the franchises, it’s a good headache for us as selectors to have,” said convenor of selectors Linda Zondi. “We are satisfied with our picks for what will certainly be a challenging tour of India. We saw some promising performances last year from the T20 squad that travelled there and we wanted to give a player like George Linde another crack at the conditions, which seemed to really suit him.”
Beauran Hendricks, who bowled superbly in the third T20 against India in Bangalore last year, was also included in place of the injured Kagiso Rabada.
“We are also particularly pleased with the balance of youth and experience that we have achieved while our young leadership group continues to establish itself.
“We are looking forward to some good performances in this relatively short tour,” Zondi said.
South Africa squad
Quinton de Kock (c), Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, Faf du Plessis, Kyle Verreynne, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Jon-Jon Smuts, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lundi Ngidi, Lutho Sipamla, Beuran Hendricks, Anrich Nortje, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj
India tour itinerary
1st ODI, Dharamsala, 12 March
2nd ODI Sunday, Lucknow, 15 March
3rd ODI, Kolkata, 18 March
