South Africa National Cricket Team: South Africa, runners-up of the 2024 T20 World Cup, on Friday announced their 15-player squad for the 2026 edition of the tournament, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8. Aiden Markram will captain the side. Several players have earned their first T20 World Cup call-ups, including Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Donovan Ferreira, George Linde, Kwena Maphaka and Jason Smith, following strong performances in recent series. In a surprise move, hard-hitting batter Tristan Stubbs was left out of the squad, along with opener Ryan Rickelton. Experienced wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock has been included. Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada, who missed the recent white-ball series against India due to a rib injury, has returned to the T20I setup.

South Africa recently lost a T20I series 3-1 to India late last year. The team will next host West Indies for a three-match T20I series from January 27 to January 31 before heading into the World Cup.

The Proteas are placed in Group D along with Afghanistan, Canada, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates. They will begin their campaign against Canada on February 9 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. South Africa will then face Afghanistan on February 11 and New Zealand on February 14 at the same venue. Their final group match will be against UAE on February 18 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

South Africa squad:Aiden Markram (captain), Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Kwena Maphaka, Lungi Ngidi, Jason Smith, George Linde, Corbin Bosch, Anrich Nortje.