OPINION: Proteas need T20 World Cup answers fast

While coach Shukri Conrad is generally pleased with how his white-ball team did on tour in India, there will be concerns about the readiness of the side ahead of the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, in February and March next year.

The batting especially is not up to scratch. As one colleague noted after the Proteas lost the T20 series to India 3-1 (with one game washed out): “The batting depth is too good for them to be so poor.”

And he’s spot on.

As Conrad mentioned after the series against India ended at the weekend, hopefully this country’s best batters will find some form and confidence in the upcoming SA20 because based on what we saw in India they’ll do well to make the final, as predicted by Conrad, if they play like they have over the last year.

The reality is the Proteas T20 team have lost nine of their 13 T20 games in 2025.

Tough selection calls

Conrad is going to have to think long and hard about the makeup of his World Cup squad and possibly make some big, tough decisions.

Of the players who’ve featured most recently, are Reeza Hendricks, Ryan Rickelton, Donovan Ferreira, David Miller and Tristan Stubbs genuinely options for the World Cup? Their form currently, and records over the last year or so, says they shouldn’t be in the picture.

Heck, even captain Aiden Markram’s T20 form is too up-and-down to provide any confidence and while Dewald Brevis is a potential match-winner he, too, has issues playing long innings’.

It would have been good to see Tony de Zorzi, Rubin Hermann, Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Matthew Breetzke get a chance in India. They’re surely the future of the Proteas T20 team.

There is also much to weigh up in the bowling department.

While Kagiso Rabada should return for the World Cup and Marco Jansen, as an all-rounder is a given, who else will get the nod … Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman, Nandré Burger, Anrich Nortjé, Lutho Sipamla, Keshav Maharaj, George Linde? And what about Corbin Bosch, Gerald Coetzee and Wiaan Mulder?

Let’s hope the SA20, which starts on Friday, will provide some answers for Conrad.