Proteas World Cup audition: Ngidi and De Kock shine as seniors struggle in India

Following South Africa’s penultimate bilateral T20I series before the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup, the 1-3 series loss in India, several players have questions marks hanging over their head in terms of making the Proteas squad for the showpiece event.

South Africa were poor in some games during the India series, especially the opening game where they were bowled out for 70-odd in Cuttack, their lowest total in T20I cricket.

They were also brilliant in some games, with the second match in New Chandigarh where they beat India by 51 runs to level the series being their highlight of the series.

Two players stood out, and it’s the vastly experienced fast bowler Lungi Ngidi and wicket-keeper batter Quinton de Kock.

Ngidi was not only South Africa’s best bowler but was the second best in the series between the teams as he finished with six wickets at an average of 18 in the series.

The 29-year-old was also impressive in terms of keeping India’s batters quiet weith an economy rate of seven runs per over.

His returns in the series makes him one of the first names that head coach Shukri Conrad and Convenor Selector Patrick Moroney will put on the flight to India for the World Cup.

De Kock was the stand out batter in the Proteas camp, as the 32-year-old marked his return to international cricket in India with two half-centuries.

The wicket-keeper/batter finished the series with 156 runs in four innings, striking at a rate of 181.

The left-handed batter will certainly make the World Cup squad as the first-choice wicket-keeper batter, ahead of Ryan Rickelton who did not get a single game in the recently concluded five-match series.

Alongside Proteas T20 captain Aiden Markram and premier fast bowler Kagiso Rabada, Ngidi and De Kock have a strong case for themselves to be on the flight to the World Cup.

However, the case for David Miller and Anrich Nortje remains uncertain after the experienced players had a relatively quiet series, having returned to international cricket for the first time in a long time during the India series.

Miller had a top score of 20 not out in three innings during the series, while Nortje went wicketless in the two matches that he played in India.

Both players were key in South Africa making it to the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup final, however, they both looked rusty in India, most likely due to not having played international cricket in a long time.

Perhaps another big name that did not impress in India is spinner Keshav Maharaj. The 35-year-old seems not to be the preferred spinner by coach Conrad as he selected him only once in the five-match series.

However, most of the Proteas players will be in action in the upcoming fourth edition of the SA20.

The month-long tournament will provide the players with enough time to make a case for themselves for the Proteas World Cup squad.