South Africa Squad for Afghanistan and Ireland Series announced: New Faces To Get Chance

Updated At: 2024/09/09

Cricket South Africa has finalized the squad for the upcoming white-ball series against Afghanistan and Ireland. South Africa will play a 3-match ODI series against Afghanistan first.

After the ODI series against Afghanistan. The Proteas will play a 2-match T20 series and a 3-match ODI series against Ireland. UAE will serve as the venue for both series.

South Africa had a good outing in the T20 World Cup 2024 and they also reached the semi-finals of the ODI World Cup 2023. The odds on the betting apps in India are in favour of the Proteas in the ODI series against Afghanistan.

Temba Bavuma will be leading the team in the ODI format and Aiden Markram will take on the position in the shortest format of the game. The Proteas management has also introduced some fresh faces in the squad.

At the same time, the management has made a deliberate choice to rest their senior players. It will be a chance for the young players to perform and become a future prospect for the national team.

South Africa Squad - New Faces

The 21-year-old Andile Simelane will be part of the team for the series in UAE. It is his maiden call and the all-rounder is expected to be part of the playing XI and get his maiden cap for the country.

He has been a crucial part of South Africa’s U-19 squad. As an all-rounder, his stats speak of his talent.

Andile Simelane - U-19 Stats

	Matches	Runs	Average	Strike Rate
Andile Simelane (Batting)	9	115	12.77	77.18

	Matches	Wickets	Economy	Average
Rishabh Pant (Bowling)	9	7	5.18	29.85

With Simelane, all-rounder Jason Smith and spinner Nqaba Peter, both are expected to receive their maiden ODI caps. The dup have already made their debuts for the T20 format for the Proteas.

The Return of Lungi Ngidi

South Africa has received a major boost in their pace segment with the return of Lungi Ngidi. Ngidi has fully recovered from a calf injury and the medical team has declared him a complete fit for all the fixtures in UAE.

Lungi Ngidi was out of action for almost a year. He was last seen playing against India in the ODI format during the ODI World Cup 2023 final.

He was part of the ODI World Cup 2023 and played 8 fixtures for the Proteas. He picked up 10 wickets at an economy of 5.86 during the tournament.

	Matches	Wickets	Economy	Average
Lungi Ngidi	8	10	5.86	35.5

South Africa Squad Against Afghanistan

Temba Bavuma (captain), Ottneil Baartman, Nandre Burger, Tony de Zorzi, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Nqaba Peter, Andile Simelane, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne and Lizaad Williams.

South Africa T20I squad against Ireland

Aiden Markram (captain), Ottneil Baartman, Matthew Breetzke, Nandre Burger, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Patrick Kruger, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter, Ryan Rickelton, Andile Simelane, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs, and Lizaad Williams.

South Africa ODI squad against Ireland

Temba Bavuma (captain), Ottneil Baartman, Nandre Burger, Tony de Zorzi, Bjorn Fortuin, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Nqaba Peter, Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, and Lizaad Williams.

Check out the predictions for the South Africa vs Afghanistan series.