The cricket men’s team head coach, Shukri Conrad believes he has made the right call with the 15 players squad he selected for the much-anticipated ICC World Test Championship (WTC), scheduled between 11-15 June at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.
The team is set to assemble for camp on the 31st of May and will face Zimbabwe from the 3rd to the 6th of June before heading to London on the 7th, to prepare to face Australia in the final.
Amongst key players who will feature in the team’s final bid is squad captain, Temba Bavuma alongside the bowling unit featuring Marco Jansen, frontline spinner Keshav Maharaj and batters Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickleton and Tristan Stubbs.
Spearhead Kagiso Rabada was also included in the squad following a one month ban after testing positive for the use of recreational drugs.
When asked about selecting Rabada, Conrad believes he served his due punishment and expressed confidence in all processes which were undertaken in the matter.
The coach is adamant that they stand a good chance to contest the WTC final.
“Over the past 18 months, we’ve worked hard to build a competitive red-ball unit, and this achievement reflects that progress.
A key part of our success has been consistency in selection, and we’ve stuck with the core group of players who have been part of this WTC cycle.
We’ve selected a balanced squad for the conditions we expect at Lord’s,” Conrad remarked.
