Dale Steyn returns to South Africa squad for England T20Is

              Credits: Getty

Squad: Quinton de Kock (c, wk), Reeza Hendricks, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Pite van Biljon, Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Jon-Jon Smuts, Beuran Hendricks, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi, Sisanda Magala, Bjorn Fortuin, Dale Steyn, Heinrich Klaasen

Faf du Plessis and Kagiso Rabada continue to be rested and will no longer partake in the remainder of England’s tour. Along with Steyn, whose last appearance for South Africa was in March 2019 against Sri Lanka, CSA has also rewarded Pite van Biljon and pacer Sisanda Magala with maiden international call-ups to the squad that will be led by Quinton de Kock.

Although Magala has been named in the squad, his selection is ultimately conditional, dependent on passing a fitness test that he will be made to take ahead of the first match in next week. The 30-year-old van Biljon was impressive over the last 24 months with stand-out performances in the T20 Domestic circuit.

“We are pleased with the group that we have selected for this upcoming T20 series against England. We have once again taken the opportunity to reward some of the hard workers of our domestic franchise system while some of our key senior players continue with their much-needed rest period and we have again, put our faith in Quinton (de Kock) to lead this group of exciting cricketers, picking up where he left off in India where he showed exemplary leadership,” CSA Acting Director of Cricket, Graeme Smith said.

“England have of course announced a competitive team and we are comfortable that we have the squad that can take them on and return positive results. With a T20 World Cup not too far away, we have begun the process of identifying several players whom we will be looking at over a period of time and hope that by the time September comes along, we will have the best possible squad of 15 representing South Africa.”

“The squad we have selected is a good indicator of the talent that we boast in our country. CSA believes in rewarding hard work and consistently good performances that have been put in by players over a period of time,” selector Linda Zondi said.

“This is why we are thrilled to include Sisanda Magala and Pite van Biljon to the T20 squad as we go about our search for that T20 World Cup 15. Both have been outstanding for their respective franchise teams in the past and we are keen to see how they do against an imposing English side.

“We are also pleased to give extended opportunities to players who have performed well within the national team as our show of commitment to them.”