WHEN Proteas limited-overs coach Rob Walter announced his T20 World Cup squad earlier this year – a squad which had only one black African player in Kagiso Rabada – transformation questions were posed to the 49-year-old.
Those queries were warranted, given the targets that Cricket South Africa have in place in terms of soon fielding a national team representative of the demographics of the country.
However, Walter was able to get away with such a squad as his team went on to reach the Proteas’ first-ever men’s T20 World Cup final in the Caribbean this past winter – an achievement that caused many to forget about the transformation targets that the coach had failed to meet.
Moreover, Walter had every right to select that squad because, ultimately, the transformation targets are enforced over 12 months – meaning a coach can field predominantly white teams before fielding players of colour towards the end of the year to meet the targets.
Yesterday, Walter announced a T20I squad for a four-match series against India at home this month.
The group includes uncapped black African players Mihlali Mpongwana and Andile Simelane, and with that feat, it seemed as if Walter was catching up on the targets.
The coach also brought back seamer Lutho Sipamla into the squad for the third and fourth matches of the series, despite the seamer having not played a T20I in three years.
Asked if transformation targets played a hand in the selection process for this squad, Walter stressed the importance of moving toward a more representative team, but also emphasised that all selected players are deserving of their places.
After all, Mpongwana, Simelane and Sipamla all finished in the top-10 leading wicket-takers list in the recently concluded CSA T20 Challenge.
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“As I said at that press conference prior to the World Cup, we all have to be committed towards a more representative side as we move forward,” Walter told the media yesterday.
“The Proteas must live by that as well, but at the end of the day, there’s no one in the squad who doesn’t deserve to be there – whether it be on a potential from a T20 point of view or past performances.
“We are trying to grow the base of players, and that is in terms of our black African players, but (also) in terms of our young potential players.
“Certainly, we need to be the ambassadors of the things that we speak about, but fortunately, on the back of good performances is always great.”
Walter’s squad also saw the exclusion of household names Anrich Nortjé, Tabraiz Shamsi and Quinton de Kock, the only active trio who are without national contracts.
The limited-overs coach explained that his priority is to give the next generation opportunities where possible – hence the selection of the likes of Nqaba Peter ahead of Shamsi for this particular series.
“Shammo is available and committed to play for South Africa... he’s made that very clear. I suppose his situation is very much similar to Anrich Nortjé’s. They were both available and wanting to play,” he said.
“In this instance, giving Nqaba Peter some opportunity to play for me is a priority. Shammo has played a number of games for South Africa.
A big moment for the Proteas as Nqaba Peter takes the 4th wicket 👏
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“He’s also involved in leagues around the world, so we know what we get from him. He’s a fierce competitor and he loves playing for South Africa.
“But then again, it’s just prioritising when we can get opportunities against quality opposition, that we get the balance right between experience and inexperience, and also provide opportunity where we can.”
Proteas T20 Squad
Aiden Markram (captain), Ottneil Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Donovan Ferreira, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Patrick Kruger, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Mihlali Mpongwana, Nqaba Peter, Ryan Rickelton, Andile Simelane, Lutho Sipamla, Tristan Stubbs.
India T20 Squad
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan, Yash Dayal.