He has played only two games in the league.
The SA20 2026 kicked off only a week back but it has brought multiple domestic players in the spotlight. The newest addition to this is Nqobani Mokoena, who starred for Paarl Royals in their most recent outing against Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
The SA20 was introduced with an aim to give young domestic stars a platform to shine. We’re into the fourth season of the league, the talent on display just keeps getting more impressive. Mokoena, at just 19 years of age, has shown promising signs, putting himself on the map.
Nqobani Mokoena, playing only his second game in the SA20, was outstanding at St George’s Park on Wednesday afternoon. He started by having Quinton de Kock nick behind off a wobble-seam full delivery moving away.
The right-arm pacer later caught another big fish in Tristan Stubbs. He bowled a pace on short delivery at the body and Stubbs could only pull it straight to the deep square leg. In his final over, he took two wickets with short balls into the pitch. Mokoena returned with the figures of 4 for 34 in four overs to help Paarl Royals restrict the opponents to 149.
This was an excellent display of bowling from the 19-year old, highlighting his skill set. He looked to move the new ball, and it became softer, he shifted to using short balls and change of pace as his main weapon.
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Born in Bloemfontein, Nqobani Mokoena grew up idealising the likes of Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers. From local clubs to higher levels, his rise has been rapid. He was part of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2024. He played three games in that tournament and went wicketless but took eight scalps in his next five youth ODIs.
Mokoena has also played two youth Tests, with one five-wicket haul to his credit. After stepping up to the senior level, he has played six List A matches, picking up eight wickets at an economy of 4.86. In the shorter format, he had played seven games before picking up the four-wicket haul in the ongoing SA20 2026 season.
There is obviously lack of experience at this level for Nqobani Mokoena, but if the signs are anything to go by, he has a bright future. South Africa is a place where there is no shortage of pace bowling talent but if Mokoena keeps delivering, he might leapfrog quite a few of them.
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