Nandre Burger, Wiaan Mulder among six South African talents to watch » Today Latest Stories

ODIs have taken to the wings of international cricket for the next six months, with the focus on the T20 World Cup, but the Champions Trophy is only 15 months away and the early preparations begin now. Many teams have seen major changes in their World Cup squads this year and will use 2024 to bring in new players like India are doing in South Africa this week.

Only three – KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Kuldeep Yadav – of the 15 members who reached the World Cup final are here to take part in the 50-over tour. “They can field three different sides and compete with the best players in the world,” the captain South African representative Aiden Markram said. For their part, South Africa have opted for a gradual change and kept nine in their World Cup squad. But, they have a lot of gaps to fill, especially in the opening batting and allrounders spots and these are areas that will be in the spotlight next week. Here’s one to keep an eye on:

After Quinton de Kock retired from ODIs and captain Temba Bavuma retired from the series, de Zorzi has the opportunity to show himself as the future opener. He has done the feat once, against the West Indies earlier in the year, and regularly for his Western Province team. In this year’s one-day cup, de Zorzi was ranked seventh, and had a higher strike rate than the four batsmen above him. Markram is expecting “good cricket from his side,” and confirmed that de Zorzi will make partner Reeza Hendricks up top. “He seems happy about it, and the coach seems happy about it. We were happy with what we saw from Tony at the beginning of the year and this is another opportunity for him to express himself.”

With 77 ODI caps to his name, Phehlukwayo was not only born but in a year that began with him being dropped from the national team and losing his midfield contract, this is the second time. Phehlukwayo was given another chance when Sisanda Magala was ruled out of the World Cup with a knee injury and although he only played one match at the tournament, he has found his way back into both the white-ball and major leagues. may be a visitor to South Africa. Phehlukwayo has batting and ball skills and at 27 years of age, he is showing the maturity that South Africa hopes will come into his game. “He sees himself not as a young man in the team anymore, but as a guy with a lot of responsibility and I think he’s taken that role very well,” Markram said. “He’s finished the game with the bat, he’s bowled some important plays between the overs and the ball and it’s great to have him playing that kind of cricket and putting his hand up.”

Competing for Phehlukwayo’s place in the team, Mulder has not played cricket for South Africa for more than two years but is now being considered for the national team. He has extensive experience overseas, and played a key role in Leicester reaching the one-day cup final earlier this year and winning the trophy. Mulder’s struggles in the past have been a lack of flexibility, opportunity and style, and South Africa could give him a whole series to try to change.

The only player not selected in the squad forced his way to selection with strong performances in domestic cricket. He was the third highest wicket-taker in the one-day series and scored 10 runs for Western Province in the last 10 years and, at 23, looks to be a promising prospect. He was part of the South Africa A team that played high-profile matches against the West Indies in November and December and although he will have to wait for his chance in this series, so far, his teammates have been impressed with his performance. they will see. “He’s young and focused on the game,” Markram said. “He’s a street beauty when it comes to his goals and adaptability. It’s great for us to have a new face like him in the team.”

With Anrich Nortje still recovering from a back strain, Burger has been tasked with bringing pace to the series and showing what he can do in the T20Is on Thursday. Although they were expensive, the speed was over 145 kph and they found that the flexibility and long duration would make the candidates better aware of what they had to offer. Burger is the leading wicket-taker in one-dayers with a strike rate of 4.60 which shows that the talent is there. Now it’s time to show it.

South Africa’s reliable seamer, Williams, could see himself leading the charge in the absence of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Gerald Coetzee. Although he has more experience as a T20 cricketer at the international level, he has 60 List A games to his name and as someone who has played in the recent World Cup, he could be a key member of South Africa’s turnaround game when it comes. sharing skills.