The Proteas have called up spinner George Linde for the upcoming three-match ODI tour of India.
Uncapped in ODI cricket, Linde, who performed relatively well in last year’s horrific Test tour of India, will replace Tabraiz Shamsi in the squad.
Shamsi is not available for selection to be with his wife for the birth of their first child.
Faf du Plessis and Rassie van der Dussen have also been added to squad after being rested for the current ODI series against Australia, while Janneman Malan, who opened the batting for the Proteas in the first match on Saturday, has been left out.
CSA independent selector Linda Zondi emphasised that the Proteas are still in a rebuilding phase and they will continue to test the depth of South African cricket.
‘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,’ he commented. ‘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,’ said Zondi.
‘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.’
The first ODI gets under way on Thursday, 12 March in Dharamsala.
Fixtures
1st ODI: Thursday 12 March, Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala
2nd ODI: Sunday 15 March, Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
3rd ODI: Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Proteas squad: Quinton de Kock (c, wk; Momentum Multiply Titans), Temba Bavuma (Imperial Lions), Rassie van der Dussen (Imperial Lions), Faf du Plessis (Momentum Multiply Titans), Kyle Verreynne (World Sports Betting Cape Cobras), Heinrich Klaasen (Momentum Multiply Titans), David Miller (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Jon-Jon Smuts (Warriors), Andile Phehlukwayo (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Lundi Ngidi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Lutho Sipamla (Warriors), Beuran Hendricks (Imperial Lions), Anrich Nortje (Warriors), George Linde (World Sports Betting Cape Cobras), Keshav Maharaj (Hollywoodbets Dolphins).
