Conrad makes tough calls as he reveals white ball plans ahead of Australia tour
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UPON Shukri Conrad's appointment as the Proteas all-format coach earlier this year, the whole country was curious to learn of his plans for the future of the team in terms of the personnel that would make up his squads.
That curiosity was prolonged for a short while in the ongoing tour to Zimbabwe as the big dogs including Aiden Markram and Kagiso Rabada were rested following the WTC final at Lord's last month.
However, with the star players now back in contention for selection for next month's white ball tour to Australia, Conrad finally revealed his hand as he announced the T20I and ODI squads for the tour which will see South Africa play three T20Is and three ODIs.
With one eye on the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup, Conrad made a number of changes to the team that played under former coach Rob Walter, the notable changes being that of the introduction of the youngsters Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Dewald Brevis in the full strength teams.
With Pretorius and Brevis having had an impressive SA20 and across all formats domestically, Conrad felt the youngsters were ahead of a number of batters in the pecking order.
As a result, Reeza Hendricks lost his place in the T20I squad while David Miller was allowed to fulfil his commitments in The Hundred, further creating space for the youngsters.
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Heinrich Klaasen's recent retirement also opened up a spot in both formats while Tabraiz Shamsi missed out as he has yet to have talks with Conrad with regard to his future in the national set-up.
Moreover, experienced batter Rassie van der Dussen makes his return to the T20I team, while Senuran Muthusamy, Corbin Bosch and Prenelan Subrayen get their first inclusion in the full-strength T20I team.
Despite the changes, Conrad emphasised that he is not moving on from the likes of Hendricks and Gerald Coetzee, who also missed out on the tour.
"I think the players have flown past Reeza. It's no secret that Markham and Ryan Rickleton are my preferred opening batters. It makes it difficult for Reeza to fit in," Conrad told the media on Thursday.
"Guys that potentially could open the batting and bat in the middle, Rassie and Lhuan-dre, give you that cover as well if you need an opening bat. I feel that they are the guys who give us better options. It's unfortunate that it's fallen this way on Reeza,"
"Shamo and I never really had the opportunity to chat, which is unfortunate. I think the selections speak for themselves in terms of who is ahead of whom in the pecking order.
"And if you look at the T20 squads, if you look at the spinners selected, that should give you a good idea of who the frontrunners are. It doesn't mean that we're going to rule anyone out.
"Gerald was the other one. There are only so many quicks you can put in your team. There are only so many bowlers in terms of balance. The players that were selected, I believe, are ahead of Gerald in the pecking order. It's not the end of the road for him.
"I think you cannot ignore what Corbin Bosch has done over the last couple of months. He's banged the door down. We've still got a few months to go, and there'll be opportunities going forward where Gerald will be able to stake a claim."
Proteas Men's head coach Shukri Conrad has today announced full-strength squads for the upcoming white-ball tour against Australia, scheduled to take place next month.
Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma return to lead the Proteas in the three-match T20 International (T20I) series… pic.twitter.com/x4WZTKox62 — Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) July 24, 2025
While Van der Dussen makes his return to the Proteas full-strength team, he is not included in the ODI squad for the tour to Australia despite having been a top performer in the ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year.
Thus, Conrad's decision to leave him out came as a surprise to many. However, Conrad explained that the 36-year-old is not being overlooked and that he believes there is enough time to give the youngsters opportunities, as there are still two years left until the next ODI World Cup.
"The immediate focus is the T20 World Cup. Rassie is very much in contention for the T20 World Cup; he gives you the option of either batting at the top or batting at three. He's great in a leadership position," said Conrad.
"With the 50-over format, because I've got a bit more time, I'm certainly not going to rule Rassie or any of the older guys out. But because we've got time until 2027, it gives me a chance to blood some of the younger players and then see how they develop. And then post the T20 World Cup, we'll probably be in a better position to decide on guys like Rassie and David."
Proteas T20I squad against Australia
Aiden Markram (captain), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, George Lind, Kwena Maphaka, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Prenelan Subrayen and Rassie van der Dussen.
Proteas ODI squad against Australia
Temba Bavuma (Captain), Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, Tony de Zorzi, Aiden Markram, Senuran Muthusamy, Keshav Maharaj, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs and Prenelan Subrayen.
Fixtures
1st T20I - Sunday, 10 August (N) Australia vs South Africa – Marrara Stadium, Darwin 2nd T20I - Tuesday, 12 August (N)Australia vs South Africa - Marrara Stadium, Darwin
3rd T20I - Saturday, 16 August (N) Australia vs South Africa, Cazalys Stadium, Cairns
1st ODI - Tuesday, 19 August (D/N) Australia vs South Africa – Cazalys Stadium, Cairns
2nd ODI - Friday, 22 August (D/N) Australia vs South Africa - Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay
3rd ODI - Sunday, 24 August (D/N) Australia vs South Africa - Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay
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