Table of Contents
Cricket South Africa (CSA), on Friday, unveiled a 16-player squad for the upcoming two-match Test tour of Zimbabwe, and the announcement crackled with the promise of fresh talent and strategic workload management. Notably, most of the star Proteas players are currently preparing hard for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia. Though, a few players from the current WTC lineup have been given rest for the Zimbabwe tour.
Dewald Brevis, Lhuan-dre Pretorius set for debuts
Notably, teen prodigy Dewald Brevis, already a sensation in white-ball arenas, is poised to pull on the Baggy Green and Gold for the first time in the longest format, while 19-year-old batting ally Lhuan-dre Pretorius joins him on the cusp of a maiden cap. Brevis arrives on the back of a record-breaking Under-19 World Cup in 2022 and a prolific 2024-25 domestic first-class season where he amassed 573 runs in 12 innings. Pretorius, meanwhile, forced the selectors’ hands with a gritty 120 on debut last December and a dogged match-saving hundred in April’s domestic final. They are joined by three other uncapped names: stroke-maker Lesego Senokwane, right-arm quick Codi Yusuf and off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen.
Experienced core trimmed for rest
Only eight members of the group currently preparing for next week’s WTC final at Lord’s have been retained. Stalwarts Kagiso Rabada, Aiden Markram and Marco Jansen headline a list of big guns placed on ice after an intense international calendar, while Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs are also afforded a breather.
Head coach Shukri Conrad confirmed that speed trio Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee and Lizaad Williams will skip Bulawayo as they complete bespoke rehabilitation programmes. Burger has clearance to ease back via T20s, Coetzee is following a workload-build plan to shield him from repeat stress injuries, and Williams is in the final stretch of recovery from knee surgery. Both Tests will be staged at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, running June 28–July 2 and July 6–10.
Also READ: WTC 2025 Final: Mark Taylor stuns with opening choices in Australia XI against South Africa
South Africa squad for Zimbabwe tour:
Temba Bavuma (c), David Bedingham, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Corbin Bosch, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Lesego Senokwane, Prenelan Subrayen, Kyle Verreynne, Codi Yusuf.
Also READ: From Yashasvi Jaiswal to Joe Root: Cricket Australia unveils best XI of WTC 2023-25
