South Africa add Rickelton and Stubbs to T20 World Cup squad

Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs have been added to South Africa's T20 World Cup squad in place of Tony de Zorzi and Donovan Ferreira, who are both injured. De Zorzi has not recovered from the hamstring tear he sustained in December in India while Ferreira fractured his shoulder while fielding in an SA20 match.

South Africa are still waiting on the fitness of David Miller, who will not play the Eliminator match for Paarl Royals against Joburg Super Kings, Lungi Ngidi, who bowled only two overs for Pretoria Capitals in the qualifier against Sunrisers Eastern Cape, and Dewald Brevis, who suffered a finger injury for Capitals but scored a match-winning 75. Brevis will have a scan on his finger on Thursday. Of those, Miller is the most concerning. He left the field in Royals' last league match of the SA20 with an adductor injury, will not be available for next week's T20Is against West Indies and will require a fitness test ahead of South Africa's departure for the T20 World Cup in early February. His participation in the tournament is dependent on passing that test.

If Miller needs to be replaced, Rubin Hermann could be considered, after he was named in the side to play West Indies. Herman is the only non-T20 World Cup-bound player in the group that will take on West Indies.

There is still no room for Ottneil Baartman, with Ngidi, who was seen with heavy strapping on his left leg, expected to be fit in time to travel to India and Sri Lanka.

Those players not involved in the SA20 playoffs - which includes captain Aiden Markram, Rickelton, Jason Smith, George Linde, Corbin Bosch and Kagiso Rabada - will assemble in camp on Friday. They will be joined by those who are still occupied at the SA20, even those who play in Sunday's final, on Monday with the series set to begin in Paarl on Tuesday. The second and third match will be played on Thursday and Saturday on the Highveld before South Africa depart for the T20 World Cup, with some adjustments to their plans in mind.

Specifically, they will juggle the batting line-up after de Zorzi was slated to bat at No.3 but required a continued period of rehabilitation. ESPNcricinfo understands that Reeza Hendricks was being considered as a replacement for de Zorzi but Rickelton, by weight of runs in the SA20 - 337 at an average of 42.12 and strike rate of 156.01 - could not be ignored. ESPNcricinfo understands that Cricket South Africa's board were convinced of the merit of choosing Rickelton over Hendricks despite them missing their transformation targets in 2025.

CSA will have to address parliament in March to explain the missed targets, which will be calculated again in 2026. CSA's self-imposed targets are to play six players of colour, including two black Africans, on average over the course of a season. In 2025, several players of colour including Temba Bavuma, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj and de Zorzi were injured for parts of the year. There was a public outcry when South Africa's squad for the T20 World Cup included only one Black African player.

The South African sports ministry clarified that they had no communication with CSA to pick the World Cup squad with targets in mind. "The assertion that Cricket South Africa was pressured by the Minister of Sport or any government authority regarding team selection is categorically false. CSA's selection processes are autonomous, governed by its internal policies and fully compliant with ICC regulations. At no point has CSA received or acted upon any directive from government in relation to squad composition," a spokesperson said.

Changes to T20 World Cup squads can be made for any reason until January 31st and after that with approval from the ICC's Event Technical Committee.