Ottneil Baartman was among major absentees from South Africa squad.
South Africa pacer Ottneil Baartman revealed that neither the selectors nor the coach had spoken to him regarding his non-selection in the T20 World Cup 2026 squad. He was among the most notable exclusions from the side, and since then, he has put on terrific bowling performances in SA20 2026.
Every squad named for T20 World Cup 2026
After another match-winning spell against Pretoria Capitals in Centurion, Baartman revealed he is not too disappointed with his omission, for he didn’t expect to be picked in the first place. However, he wasn’t informed by the selectors or management about why he wasn’t selected for the mega event.
“Yeah, to be honest, I never had a conversation with them (selectors and coach). Obviously, the selector called me when I was picked for that Indian series, but before that, nobody communicated with me. So, like I said, the World Cup is a different thing, a different story for me. Like I said, nobody actually spoke to me before or after that. So, yeah, can’t say anything more on that.”
South Africa selected four specialist pacers in their T20 World Cup 2026 squad – Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, and Kwena Maphaka – along with Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch as all-rounders. They had no room for more speedsters and clearly preferred more experienced players to those with little to no experience playing in these conditions.
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Ottneil Baartman was on the India tour, where he bowled reasonably well to pick five wickets at 19.40 runs apiece in three innings, including a four-wicket haul. So, he definitely pressed his case for selection, but the selectors probably preferred the likes of Nortje and Ngidi for their specialisation in various phases.
For instance, Nortje can bowl hard lengths at high pace and will be effective in Ahmedabad, where South Africa will play their initial three games. Ngidi brings ample experience and can bowl deceiving slower ones in slog overs, while Maphaka’s selection was more about getting a left-arm variety to the attack in case Marco Jansen gets injured or certain opposition struggle against this angle.
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