South Africa name 16-year-old wicketkeeper-batter Karabo Meso in squad for Sri Lanka T20Is

Karabo Meso, a 16-year-old wicketkeeper-batter, has earned her maiden international call-up for South Africa's forthcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka. Cricket South Africa has announced a 15-member squad for the three-match series, starting on March 27. 

Meso has taken part in the inaugural U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 which commenced in South Africa. The teenager exhibited an all-star performance behind the stumps, with eight dismissals in five games, the most in the tournament. Notably, she was even entitled to a spot in the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023’s Team of the Tournament.

Her performance in the ICC event helped her to earn a place in South Africa at the first-ever Women’s T20 event at the African Games in Ghana, in which her side clinched the silver medal. The other change in the squad from the Australia T20I series, in January this year, is the inclusion of Annerie Dercksen and Tumi Sekhukhune. All three are coming in place of Ayanda Hlubi, Mieke de Ridder and Delmi Tucker.

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The upcoming T20I series will be a preparation run for both sides with the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 set to commence in September-October. Meanwhile, Hilton Moreeng, South Africa Women's Head Coach, stated that she is looking forward to Meso's performance.

“We still have the core of the squad to make sure we can continue with what we've been working on regarding the T20Is. The build-up has been coming along nicely and now it’s just for us to deservingly give opportunities for those one or two spots we want to have a look at,” Moreeng was quoted as saying by ICC.

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“There are a few youngsters coming in and one debutant in Karabo Meso who has been part of the High-Performance group and in the U19 World Cup. It's a youngster who's got a lot of potential and one we're looking to see how she goes when given the opportunity," he added. 

South Africa T20I squad: Laura Wolvaardt, Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Suné Luus, Eliz-Mari Marx, Karabo Meso, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Chloé Tryon