South Africa announce squad for the U19 World Cup, include Makhaya Ntini’s son

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has announced their squad for the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup which will commence on January 13 next year. New Zealand is all set to host the mega event which will go on for three weeks and the final will be played on February 3. Kiwis will be hosting the tournament for the record third time as the teams will battle for the ultimate glory. However, the talking point of the squad was the inclusion of the son of Makhaya Ntini, Thando Ntini.

Thando made his debut at the U19 level in July earlier this year against West Indies and picked four wickets. He is already earmarked to follow the footsteps of his father who himself was a competitive cricketer with the ball in hand and enjoyed the game throughout his career. The 17-year-old is touted to be extremely talented and Proteas would be expecting a special performance from him in the Kiwi nation.

Coach excited to lead the talented group

The young and talented group will be led by Raynard van Tonder as the team is filled with experience who have played for the senior sides of their respective provincial teams. The head coach Lawrence Mahatlane was pleased with the team combination and believed that the team has the ability to go all the way in the tournament. South Africa won the U19 World Cup in 2014 held in UAE and the coach hoped that they would emulate the success yet again after four years.

“I’m very excited as a coach to take this group to New Zealand. They are massively talented with the potential for even greater things and I’m confident that we have chosen the combination that will give us the desired results,” he said according to Sportskeeda. South Africa have been placed in somewhat is being considered as a ‘group of death’. They will face Kenya, the hosts New Zealand and the defending champions Windies in the 16-team tournament.

South Africa U19 squad: Raynard van Tonder (C), Matthew Breetzke (wk), Jean du Plessis, Jason Niemand, Gerald Coetzee, Jade de Klerk, Fraser Jones, Wandile Makwetu (wk), Andile Mogakane, Kgaudise Molefe, Thando Ntini, Jiveshen Pillay, Hermann Rolfes, Kenan Smith, Akhona Mnyaka.