Morne Morkel was the big omission when South Africa’s squad for the T20 World Cup in India was announced on Wednesday.
Morkel hasn’t played in a T20 since August 2015 and didn’t play in the series in India, while his brother Albie Morkel was overlooked.
Faf du Plessis will lead the side containing two all-rounders in David Wiese and Chris Morris, while the likes of Morkel and Eddie Leie were left out.
Du Plessis said the squad had great confidence going into the tournament after they won their T20I series against India last year.
‘Our performances over last year in T20Is have been exceptional,’ Du Plessis said. ‘Guys like Dale Steyn will play in the series against Australia so he should be fit and ready to go once the tournament starts.’
Du Plessis also said most of the experimenting in the batting line-up has been done now.
Former Proteas wicketkeeper Mark Boucher, who was present at the announcement, said it was an exciting squad.
‘There’s a few all-rounders,’ Boucher said. ‘The players must express themselves, but there are lots of combinations available.’
South Africa World Cup T20 squad: Faf du Plessis, Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Chris Morris, Aaron Phangiso, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn, David Wiese.