Speedster Ottneil Baartman has been an integral part of the South African white-ball bowling unit.
Soon after Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced the squad for the T20 World Cup 2026, the exclusions did raise a few eyebrows. One of the prominent exclusions was Ottneil Baartman, who was a regular in their white-ball setup for the shortest format.
The speedster, however claimed that there was absolutely no communication from the CSA with regards to his omission from the squad. Baartman revealed his side of the story during the recently concluded SA20, which attracted a lot of eyeballs.
Former South African legends like Dale Steyn took to their social media handles to express their disappointment over the way Ottneil Baartman was treated by the board (or rather the way the pacer thought he was being treated).
In a shocking turn of events, CSA Convener of Selectors Patrick Moroney has revealed that the speedster was informed of his omission from the T20 World Cup squad well in advance, denying claims made by the Paarl Royals (PR) speedster.
“Ottneil, I have spoken to him. I mean, I did phone him. I did speak to him,” Moroney said. “So how and why he said that to the media, you maybe need to find out from him, not from me. But that he was spoken to is definitely a fact,” said Moroney.
ALSO READ:
Patrick Moroney further stated that the journalists must seek questions from the pacer, so as to why he ended up giving statements that were very far away from the reality. Too add to that, he stated that the board knew the players who would make it to the squad a few days before the SA20.
“Unfortunately, in the make-up of a side, there’s no space for [Lungi] Ngidi and Baartman. They bowl more or less the same kind of pace and have the same variations,” stated Moroney.
Baartman has been a force to reckon with for the T20 World Cup 2024 finalists. In the 17 T20Is that he has played, the 32-year-old has clinched 22 wickets with two four-wicket hauls to his name. To add to that, his economy sits at a respectable 8.21 in the shortest format.
Ottneil Baartman has a great set of variations in his arsenal, which makes him a wily customer at the death end of the innings. This is exactly why his skillsets match Lungi Ngidi – something which became a reason for his exclusion from the squad.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
