Dane van Niekerk, the South African captain, has not been included in the 15-member squad for the Women’s T20 World Cup as she remained unselected due to fitness issues. In Niekerk’s absence, Sune Luus has now been assigned with the responsibility of leading the team. Commencing on February 10th, Women’s T20 World Cup is set to flare.
van Niekerk posted that she is “Absolutely broken” after the recent snub.
In a squad without Lizelle Lee and Mignon du Preez, two seasoned players who were a part of the team in their previous World Cup, Chloe Tryon has been designated Luus’s vice.
Tryon and Marizanne Kapp are among the middle order players on the South African World Cup team, while skipper Sune Luus keeps the batting order together with a mix of force and control. Shabnim Ismail will oversee the bowling attack while Tazmin Brits and Laura Wolvaardt will begin their innings.
Clinton du Preez, the women’s selection convenor, said Niekerk had opportunities to demonstrate her fitness but fell short. “Dane was given an extensive opportunity to meet the minimum criteria, or the fitness benchmark for eligibility into the World Cup. She recently did another fitness test and unfortunately did not meet the minimum criteria, and therefore she’s missed out,” said Preez as per BBC.
Preez further quoted, “Many other players have gone down this route, everyone is quite familiar with the situation and what is required. In December, we set it out clearly with where she needs to be. We have reminded her of that. We also appreciate the effort she tried to put into meeting the fitness level.”
du Preez argued that the player could have added a lot more experience, which could seriously harm South Africa’s World Cup hopes, “The management assisted her into trying to get there but she did not meet the minimum requirement. The skill set of Dane as a cricketer will always be missed on the cricket field.”