Squad also includes SA20 sensation Pretorius as they prepare for tri-series against New Zealand and Zimbabwe

Seamers Gerald Coetzee and Nandre Burger will make their return to international cricket after eight and 11 months respectively in South Africa’s T20I tri-series in Zimbabwe next month. Coetzee was sidelined by a hamstring and then a groin injury over the home summer while Burger has been out with a lower back stress fracture. Both are currently in action at the Major League Cricket tournament in the USA.

South Africa are without regular captain Aiden Markram, batters Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs and David Miller, allrounder Marco Jansen, pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj (who will lead the Test side in Zimbabwe). Anrich Nortje has a stress-related injury of the back and was unavailable for selection. “We will have to see the length of the time that he will be out,” Conrad said, “And the extent of the injury. I really feel for him. He is a superstar fast bowler and having to deal with setback after setback can’t be easy. We will wait to see how serious it is.”

Tabraiz Shamsi, who like Nortje is no longer contracted to CSA, has also not been included. Conrad revealed that he will have a conversation with wristspinner in the next week or so to determine his plans with the national side going forward. Heinrich Klaasen has retired from international cricket.

In Markram’s absence, Rassie van der Dussen will captain the side, having also done so on South Africa’s tour to West Indies before last year’s T20 World Cup. There is experience in the form of Reeza Hendricks and Lungi Ngidi and four uncapped players. Exciting left-handed batter Lhuan-dre Pretorius, who is also in the Test squad, is in line for a T20I debut alongside Rubin Hermann, left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy and allrounder Corbin Bosch.

The series is the first white-ball assignment for South Africa’s all-format coach Shukri Conrad, who has already been in charge of the Test side since 2023 and will take on the extra workload until 2027. On appointment in May, Conrad stressed that he expected to field squads that are as close to full strength as possible outside of major tournaments but his first rodeo as white-ball coach has not panned out that way.

With next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka in mind, South Africa have included three spinners in Muthusamy, George Linde and Nqabayomzi Peter. Linde was among the top 10 wicket-takers at the SA20 while Peter played for South Africa in tours towards the latter end of last year. “Having three quality spin options gives us a great deal of variety, especially in conditions like Harare,” Conrad said in a statement.

The batting line-up is headlined by the return of Dewald Brevis, who played two T20Is for South Africa against Australia in 2023 and scored five runs collectively. Then, Brevis was being fast-tracked onto the international scene after topping the run-charts at the 2022 Under-19 World Cup. He has since had two full domestic seasons and impressed across formats, including finishing as the sixth-highest run-scorer at the SA20 last summer. Brevis also had an eye-catching stint as a replacement player for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2025.

Hermann was the fifth-leading run-scorer at the SA20 and Pretorius topped the charts. All three have been called up on the back of those performances. “Lhuan-dré and Rubin have been rewarded for their outstanding domestic form in the SA20 and we’re excited to see how they adapt to the demands of international cricket,” Conrad said.

South Africa’s pace department includes left-arm seamer Kwena Maphaka, who is also in the Test squad, and allrounder Andile Simelane, who has played five T20Is.

The tri-series, which starts on July 14, also includes New Zealand, who will be coached by South Africa’s former white-ball coach, Rob Walter. All seven matches will be played in Harare.

South Africa T20I squad

Rassie van der Dussen (capt), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee, Reeza Hendricks, Rubin Hermann, George Linde, Kwena Maphaka, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter, Lhuan-dré Pretorius, Andile Simelane