“We are especially happy that we have AB de Villiers back as captain”
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
AB de Villiers will make his ODI comeback when he leads South Africa in the upcoming five-match series against Sri Lanka, which begins on Saturday.
De Villiers had been sidelined since June last year with an elbow injury, which he ended up undergoing surgery for.
Meanwhile, pace bowler Lungi Ngidi was drafted into the ODI squad following his impressive performance in the first two Twenty20 Internationals, in which he took six wickets.
Despite making a strong start to his international career, South Africa’s convener of selectors Linda Zondi does not want to put an excess amount of pressure on the 20-year-old by expecting more of him.
“We need to take it one step at a time with him and see how he develops but we are very pleased with what we have seen so far,” Zondi told ESPNcricinfo. “To have guys like Ngidi, Dwaine Pretorius and Andile Phehlukwayo coming through proves to us that our pipeline is producing.”
All-rounder Chris Morris, who is also a fast bowler, will make his comeback from a knee injury as the Proteas will have to rebuild their bowling attack following the loss of Kyle Abbott, who cannot be considered for selection after signing a Kolpak deal with Hampshire, and Dale Steyn, who is still recovering from shoulder surgery.
In regards to their spin attack, South Africa have left out Aaron Phangiso in favour of Tabraiz Shamsi.
“We’re not at all saying Phangiso should only play T20s and Shamsi only ODIs. We just want to see how this combination works out and then we will take it from there,” Zondi said.
South Africa will feature in 10 ODIs over the next six weeks before playing three more against England prior to the Champions Trophy.
“We can’t ask for more in terms of preparation. Our one-day squad is coming together really nicely and we are especially happy that we have AB de Villiers back as captain,” Zondi added.
South Africa ODI Squad: AB de Villiers (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi.