Proteas white-ball coach Rob Walter hopes to build the same strength in depth as the Springboks have achieved under Rassie Erasmus.
The back-to-back World Cup-winning Boks are currently able to field two different teams of similar strength, with a team missing several first-choice players still able to beat the Wallabies in Perth last month.
In contrast, a Proteas team missing Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortjé, Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj recently suffered a 3-0 T20I series defeat to the West Indies in the Caribbean.
Walter used the series to give opportunities to fringe players, while also blooding 18-year-old fast bowler Kwena Maphaka at senior international level.
“The picture looked very different six years ago as far as the Boks were concerned,” Walter told Rapport newspaper, adding that while South African cricket had similar depth, there was a “big gap” between domestic and international levels.
Of recent Proteas selections, he said: “This is about exposing players with talent and potential. We are trying our best to create international game opportunities for them.
“Our first-choice team will still be our first-choice team, but we want to make sure our reserve players challenge the top players. The healthy rivalry will force the first-choice group to keep raising their performances.
“The increasing demands of T20 league cricket internationally on our first-choice players has made it imperative to cast the net wider and create a wider pool of international players. We are on track.”
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