Johannesburg [South Africa], January 2 (ANI): There were two surprises in South Africa's squad for the ICC T20 World Cup squad for next year in India and Sri Lanka, as wicketkeeper-batter Ryan Rickelton and batter Tristan Stubbs, two promising faces of the Proteas' next generation were dropped from the squad for the marquee tournament.

Aiden Markram will be leading the Proteas' squad featuring veteran Quinton de Kock, who reversed his white-ball cricket retirement last year and pacer Anrich Nortje as vital members of the squad. De Kock is the frontline wicketkeeper-batter and has no back up.

Both Rickelton and Stubbs, aged 29 and 25 respectively, have been dropped despite the Indian Premier League (IPL) experience under their belt, which would have helped South Africa in their bid to secure their first major white-ball world title after securing the ICC World Test Championship under Temba Bavuma's leadership just last year. They had narrowly missed out on the T20 WC 2024 crown, losing to a powerful Indian side by just seven runs while chasing 177 runs.

Rickelton has been average in T20Is this year, with 118 runs in five innings at an average of 23.60 and a strike rate of 132.58, with a 71 against Australia doing the heavy lifting. Overall in 18 T20Is, he has made 381 runs at an average of 21.16 with a strike rate of over 134, with two fifties and a best score of 76.

On the other hand, Stubbs has scored 152 runs in seven T20Is this year, at an average of 21.71 and a strike rate of just over 121, with a best score of 37. In 42 T20Is, Stubbs has scored 822 runs at an average of 27.40 and a strike rate of over 132, with two fifties and a best score of 76.

But both batters have valuable IPL experience under their belt in India, with Rickelton making a fine IPL debut with five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) this year, with 388 runs in 14 matches and innings at an average of just a shade under 30, with a strike rate of almost 151, including three fifties.

Stubbs has played for MI and Delhi Capitals (DC), two seasons each since IPL 2022, scoring 705 runs in 32 matches and 30 innings at an average of 41.47, with a strike rate of over 163, with three fifties. In his two seasons with DC, he has been a crucial cog of DC's middle-order as a hard-hitting finisher. In the last season, he made 300 runs in 14 matches and 13 innings at an average of 50 and a strike rate of over 150, with a best score of 41*. His 2024 season with the franchise put him on the map, scoring 378 runs in 14 matches and 13 innings at an average of 54.00 and a strike rate of almost 191 with three fifties.

Recently in SA20 season 4, Rickelton has smashed a brilliant 113 and 33 for MI Cape Town, the defending champion, while Stubbs, the newly-appointed Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) skipper, has endured a lean run with scores of 17, 9 and 2*.

'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,' selection convener Patrick Moroney said as per ESPNcricinfo.

South Africa is in Group D of the tournament along with Afghanistan, New Zealand, Canada and the UAE.

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