Stubbs misses out on South Africa's T20 World Cup squad

South Africa have sprung a surprise by leaving out dynamic batter Tristan Stubbs from their 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup 2026, while welcoming back pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada, who missed the recent series against India with injury.

South Africa squad: Aiden Markram (c), Quinton de Kock, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Donovan Ferreira, Tony de Zorzi, George Linde, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Kwena Maphaka, Jason Smith

In a notable selection call, Cricket South Africa have handed a maiden World Cup opportunity to middle-order batter Jason Smith. The 31-year-old smashed 68 off 19 balls to steer the Dolphins into the playoffs of the domestic T20 challenge late last year. He also opened this season of the SA20 with a blistering 41 off just 14 balls for MI Cape Town against Durban Super Giants. But Smith has featured in just two T20Is for the Proteas and has a T20 strike rate of 128.30.

Stubbs' omission is the most eye-catching decision, with the young batter having established himself as a regular in South Africa's white-ball setup. His exclusion is curious considering he has scored nearly 700 over the last two IPL seasons at a strike-rate of 170.83 in representative conditions for the World Cup. However, Stubbs has had a lean run in T20Is in 2025, aggregating only 152 runs from seven innings at 121.60 SR.

"We have had to make some big calls, but we feel this group is the strongest and has every chance of succeeding in India and Sri Lanka. We have assembled a world-class squad with some of the finest and most experienced players in the game, together with some of the best T20 youngsters coming through," Convenor Selector for the Proteas Men Patrick Moroney said.

From the squad that toured India recently, fast bowlers Ottneil Baartman and Lutho Sipamla have been left out, along with top-order batter Reeza Hendricks. The return of Rabada bolsters South Africa's pace arsenal, which also features Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch.

The Aiden Markram-led squad retains experienced campaigners Quinton de Kock, David Miller and Keshav Maharaj, while exciting left-arm fast bowler Kwena Maphaka has also retained his place. Dewald Brevis, Donovan Ferreira, Tony de Zorzi and George Linde are also first-time World Cuppers, who complete the 15-member group that will represent last edition's runners-up

"We are returning to the subcontinent, where we recently competed against hosts India. The experience we gained playing in those conditions will undoubtedly benefit us as we head into this tournament," head coach Shukri Conrad said. "Many of the players selected for the World Cup squad were on that trip and experienced first-hand the pitches that we will likely encounter and that will stand them in good stead once we get to India.

"We do have one more T20I series against the West Indies before we depart for the World Cup, and that squad will be announced later this month."