Proteas coach Shukri Conrad warns World Cup rivals about Kwena Maphaka's X-factor

THE Proteas came in for some fair criticism following the announcement of their squad for the T20 World Cup next month, but coach Shukri Conrad holds a firm belief that teenager Kwena Maphaka could be one of the standout players for South Africa.

South Africa named a relatively inexperienced side for the tournament in India and Sri Lanka, with just seven players included in the squad which reached the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup.

In fact, seven players of the 15 have not featured in a World Cup before. One of those players is the 19-year-old Maphaka.

Speaking about Maphaka, Conrad was more than confident in his young left-arm quick.

“With regards to Kwena, Kwena is a bit of an X-factor in T20,” Conrad told SportsBoom.co.za.

“He’s got pace and yes, he can go for a bit every now and again. But he does give us the option, depending on the type of wickets we might play on.”

It may have been a gamble to go with just two frontline spinners in Indian and Sri Lankan conditions with Keshav Maharaj and George Linde the selected tweakers, and Conrad will expect seamers like Maphaka to make telling contributions.

He added” “He’s definitely not going along just for the ride. We’ve seen him do some really good things in T20. He was part of our T20 squad in England and Australia, if I'm not mistaken, and then obviously suffered the injury. So he was always part of the plans. He picks up wickets.

“So no, he’s not just going on a sightseeing trip. He's got experience of playing there in the IPL. And yes, all of the things that I mentioned to you, given the right conditions, he can do a really good job for us.”