South Africa T20I Squad Named: Van der Dussen Returns, Nortje Ruled Out With Injury

Rassie van der Dussen, Nandre Burger, and Gerald Coetzee are set to make their return to the South African squad, alongside coach Rob Walter. Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Corbin Bosch, Rubin Hermann, and Senuran Muthusamy will also be joining the team, with Shukri Conrad taking on coaching duties. However, Anrich Nortje will be absent due to injury.

Anrich Nortje's injury woes continue. © Getty

Van der Dussen's last appearance for South Africa was in March, Burger in August, and Coetzee in November. Pretorius, Bosch, Hermann, and Muthusamy are all in line to make their T20I debut. Walter returns to coach after his stint with New Zealand. Conrad, who has been South Africa's red-ball coach since January 2023, will now lead the team in the white-ball format, taking over from Walter in May.

The changes come ahead of the T20I triangular series in Zimbabwe next month, featuring South Africa, New Zealand and Zimbabwe.

"I look forward to catching up with Rob," Conrad stated at a press conference on Thursday. "We've been chatting and we're going to share a nice sparkling water. He's got valuable insights into our squad, which makes the tri-series all the more spicy."

Van der Dussen will captain the team in the absence of Aiden Markram, who is being rested along with Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Ryan Rickelton, Kagiso Rabada, and Tristan Stubbs.

Conrad has emphasized the importance of having South Africa's best players available consistently, a challenge given the prevalence of leagues in modern cricket. The squad announcement suggests a shift in that approach, prioritizing player rest and recovery.

"The all-format players had Test series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan at home [in November and December]," Conrad explained. "Then they had the SA20 [in January and February], then they went straight into an IPL that went on for a bit longer [from March to June]. Then we had the WTC final [at Lord's this month]. Their last few months have been chock-a-block."

He added, "If you cast your eye on what the next few months look like for us, starting with this series and then a couple of days after that we go to Australia [in August, for white-ball series] and England [in September, also for white-ball rubbers], we felt it was the best thing for them to freshen up."

Burger and Coetzee have recovered from injuries, but Nortje, initially considered for the tri-series, was ruled out due to a stress-related back problem. This marks another setback for the fast bowler.

"It's the second or third stress reaction in his back," Conrad said. "So of course it's something to be concerned about. But there's still a long way to go to make a decision in terms of how we're going to go forward. We're definitely not going to draw a line through his name."

Conrad added, "He's only 31, and we're going to give him every chance to get back on his feet and fight back. We're going to see how things develop and what the medical staff feel is the path forward and how it's going to look."

Nortje, previously a regular in all formats, last played for South Africa in June 2024. Since his debut in March 2019, he has earned 83 international caps, but has featured in less than 40% of the matches South Africa have played, due to injuries and his focus on franchise cricket.

On a positive note, Pretorius is on the verge of making his international debut. "He's a special breed, the type of player who announces themselves on the biggest stage," Conrad said. "He did really well in the under-19 World Cup and he debuted in the SA20 and was phenomenal. He's played first-class cricket for the Titans, and he scored a hundred on debut and a hundred in the final. That says there's something special about him."

Pretorius was South Africa's highest run-scorer at the 2023 under-19 World Cup and at this year's SA20. He scored 120 on his first-class debut against the Warriors and 114 in the final against the Lions.