Mumbai Indians' Kwena Maphaka celebrates after taking the wicket against the Rajasthan Royals in this year’s Indian Premier League. Maphaka will get his first taste of senior international cricket against the West Indies. FILE - Mumbai Indians' Kwena Maphaka celebrates after taking the wicket against the Rajasthan Royals in this year’s Indian Premier League. Maphaka will get his first taste of senior international cricket against the West Indies. Photo: Punit Paranjpe/AFP
The Proteas will blood quite a few fresh faces during their upcoming T20 International series against the West Indies.
Coach Rob Walter has selected two rookies in Jason Smith and Kwena Maphaka, while a few others have played less than five T20I matches for the Proteas.
IOL Sport’s John Goliath looks at some of the newbies in the team and what they can bring to the Proteas as Walter builds towards the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup in India.
Jason Smith
At 30 yeas old, Smith is not exactly a spring chicken, and, while his promising early career seemed to stall a bit, he has found a new lease on life since making the switch from Western Province in Cape Town to the Dolphins in Durban.
This past season the all-rounder showed his quality, especially with the bat. Smith scored 291 runs at an average of 41.57 and a strike rate of 134.10 in the CSA T20 Challenge, which included a 51 in the final against the Lions.
Kwena Maphaka
The 18-year-old Maphaka was part of the ICC U19 World Cups squads in 2023 and 2024. He played a starring role in the 2024 event on home soil, earning the Player-of-the-Tournament award with a haul of 21 wickets at a ridiculous average of 9.71.
He also made his domestic T20 debut for the Lions and Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League earlier this year. Maphaka, who is an aggressive left-arm seamer, didn’t have the greatest of IPLs, but the experience would have done him the world of good. He is the future of South African cricket.
Nandre Burger
The 29-year-old left-arm quick is also a late bloomer, but is starting to feature for the Proteas in all formats of the game. Burger is a strong left-arm quick, who gets late swing into the right-handers with the new ball and also possess a very good bouncer.
He was on the sidelines during the T20 World Cup in the West Indies, but will be pushing for a starting berth in the team going forward ahead of the 2026 edition alongside the Kagiso Rabadas of this world.
Donovan Ferreira
Ferreira will want to make his mark in the West Indies in the absence of regular middle-order bashers Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller. Ferreira is a great striker of the ball, going at a strike-rate of 187.50 in the two T20Is he has featured in for the Proteas.
Ferreira was mentioned as an all-round option for Walter in the lead up to the series with his useful off-spinners, but it will be his ability to get quick runs at the end of the innings that must help this young team. Ferreira has played a lot of franchise cricket over the last few years, which should help him against the West Indies.
Patrick Kruger
The Kimberley-born all-rounder is another player who is starting to reach his potential in his late 20s. Kruger has been put in a few top performances with bat and ball in the SA20 over the last couple of years, showing some heart for the fight in tough situations.
He also makes useful contributions with the ball on wickets that offer a bit of nip or those that are on the slow side. But Kruger's main strength is his ability to hit the ball out of the park from ball one, which makes him a welcome addition to the team in this format of the game.
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