LEEDS, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 02: Wiaan Mulder of South Africa catches the ba during the 1st Metro Bank ODI between England and South Africa at Headingley on September 02, 2025 in Leeds, England. (Photo by Philip Brown/Getty Images)
Experienced allrounder Wiaan Mulder has been called into the Proteas T20 team in place of the injured Eathan Bosch for the five-match series against New Zealand away later this month.
Bosch has a hamstring injury and won’t feature in the games in New Zealand.
Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj will captain the team which features four uncapped players, namely batters Connor Esterhuizen (Lions), Dian Forrester (North West Dragons) and Jordan Hermann (Warriors) as well as Dolphins and former SA Under-19 fast bowler Nqobani Mokoena.
The 19-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough season and finished as one of the leading wicket-takers in the SA20 while playing for the Paarl Royals.
Ottniel Baartman, the leading wicket-taker during the SA20 in December and January, is also back in the mix.
World Cup players
Only three Proteas players who featured at the recent T20 World Cup, where the South African side lost in the semi-finals to New Zealand, will tour Down Under for the series against the Black caps. Besides Maharaj, the other World Cup players in the group are left-arm spinner George Linde and batter Jason Smith.
Fast bowler Gerald Coetzee will make his return to the Proteas T20 side for the first time since featuring for the national team against Namibia in October 2025, while batter Tony de Zorzi is back in the squad following his recovery from a right hamstring injury.
The squad will leave for New Zealand on Sunday. The World Cup plyers as well as the team management will fly directly from Kolkata in India to ew Zealand.
Meanwhile, the rest of the World Cup squad will travel back to South Africa on Tuesday via a charter flight from Kolkata to Johannesburg.
T20 squad to New Zealand:
Keshav Maharaj (capt), Ottneil Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Connor Esterhuizen, Dian Forrester, Jordan Hermann, Rubin Hermann, George Linde, Nqobani Mokoena, Wiaan Mulder, Andile Simelane, Lutho Sipamla, Prenelan Subrayen, Jason Smith
Fixtures
1st T20: Sunday, 15 March (9.15am SA time), Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui
2nd T20: Tuesday, 17 March (9.15am SA time), Seddon Park, Hamilton
3rd T20: Friday, 20 March (9.15am SA time), Eden Park, Auckland
4th T20: Sunday, 22 March (9.15am SA time), Sky Stadium, Wellington
5th T20: Wednesday, 25 March (9.15am SA time), Hagley Oval, Christchurch
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