South Africa’s T20 World Cup squad has “failed to meet the [transformation] targets set by CSA”, resulting in the board’s admission that “various initiatives that have been pursued over the years have not yielded the desired results, especially in terms of producing Black African cricketers at the highest levels”.
But this will not, according to a board spokesperson, extend to interference in selection.
The 15-player provisional squad includes six players of colour, of which just one – Kagiso Rabada – is black African. CSA’s current target requires the national squad to field – on average over the course of a season – six players of colour in an XI, of which at least two must be black African. They will have the opportunity to improve on the average over the 2024-25 summer but even if Reeza Hendricks, Bjorn Fortuin, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rabada and Ottniel Baartman play every game, South Africa will still miss the target of two black African players at the T20 World Cup,…