Selection controversies hit Black Caps’ major group rival at 2026 T20 World Cup
Sunday, 18 January 2026
New Zealand’s major T20 World Cup group foe have struck controversy with their selections.
While there was the odd eyebrow raised over the naming of the Black Caps squad for the tournament starting next month, there’s been some genuine discontent and frantic head-scratching in South Africa over their team.
The 2024 runners-up named a pace-heavy bowling attack for the 2026 event, which will see them contest Group D along with NZ, Afghanistan, UAE and Canada.
But there’s no room for the leading wicket-taker in the short history of the SA20 competition, seamer Ottniel Baartman, while the inclusion of middle-order batter Jason Smith has baffled many.
Baartman was in the squad in 2024 when the Proteas lost to India in the final in Barbados, but has only played in 11 of South Africa's 29 T20Is since.
But former South African pace bowling superstar Dale Steyn said Baartman should have been an automatic selection.
'He's the highest wicket taker in SA20, won the league twice and made a final, let me remind you, that's a comp that has 4 INTERNATIONAL players (often batters) plus all the PROTEAS! He's number 1,' Steyn tweeted recently.
'That’s TOP quality, but he'll be sitting home for this year's 20/20 WC,” wrote Steyn, who was Baartman's bowling coach for the first three editions of the SA20 at Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
The 32-year-old is currently making a mockery of his omission, being the equal-highest wicket-taker in the high-profile SA20, with 11 victims in just four matches at an average of 12.27.
The South African quick bowling sextet of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kwena Maphaka and Anrich Nortje is a quality group, but the absence of Baartman leaves them with little variation.
Smith made the squad ahead of the likes of Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs, despite being a 31-year-old with only five international appearances.
Selection convenor Patrick Moroney said Smith’s selling point was 'versatility', but in this season’s SA20, Smith has made only 84 runs (Strike Rate 156) in seven knocks, almost half of which came in one innings.
In contrast, Rickleton this week was the top runscorer in the SA20, with 324 runs from seven innings at an average of 54 and a SR of 167.
South Africa will play a three-game T20I series at home against the West Indies at the end of the month before heading to India.
Afghanistan will also play the West Indies in three T20Is in UAE ahead of the World Cup, with the end of the tournament also marking the end of Jonathan Trott’s tenure as head coach.
Batting coach Andrew Puttick has already departed.
Former England batter Trott has been in charge of Afghanistan since July 2022, winning 29 out of 61 T20Is and 20 of the side’s 43 ODIs.
He guided the side into the semifinals of the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA and Caribbean, after helping eliminate the Black Caps with a win in Group play, which was followed by a victory over Australia in the Super Eight stage.
New Zealand will take confidence into their re-match - which starts their T20 World Cup campaign in Chennai on February 8 - from Afghanistan’s more recent results.
Since the T20 WC 2024, Afghanistan have won 10 and lost eight T20Is. Their best victory came against Pakistan, while the other triumphs were over Zimbabwe (five times), UAE (twice) and Hong Kong and Qatar.
They’ve lost four times to Bangladesh at neutral venues, twice to Pakistan and once each versus Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.
The major talking points of the selection of the 15-player Black Caps squad was the inclusion of veteran allrounder Jimmy Neesham and the omission of batters Tim Robinson and Bevon Jacobs.
Top-order bat Robinson made consecutive golden ducks for Wellington in the Super Smash following his disappointment, but bounced back with 65 from 47 balls early this week, while Auckland’s Jacobs made his fifth consecutive half-century in the competition this week to lead the run-scoring table.