South Africa excludes du Plessis, Tahir and Morris from T20 WC squad; Fans shell-shocked

Cricket fans around the globe were not impressed with the decision of Cricket South Africa (CSA) to exclude former captain Faf du Plessis, veteran spinner Imran Tahir and all-rounder Chris Morris from their squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Announced by CSA, the squad of 15 will be led by Captain Temba Bavuma as they begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Australia in the first match of the Super 12 stage on October 23. Cricket fans on Twitter were shocked and miffed upon knowing about the experienced players not making it into the team for the tournament.

Let’s have a look at how the fans have reacted to the three South African players’ exclusion from the squad. Among many reactions, the fact that South Africa has not given itself 'the best chance' to win the tournament by not selecting du Plessis, Tahir, and Chris Morris was pointed out by a user.

Faf du Plessis made his T20I debut against England in 2012. Since then he has gone on to play fifty T20I matches for the Proteas and scored 1,528 runs at a strike rate of 134.39. One of the fans was quick to mention that he should have been included in the team because of the experience he carries.

Meanwhile, another user predicted that South Africa will not win a single match in their ICC T20 World Cup campaign.

Another notable player to miss out from South Africa’s squad was Janneman Malan, who has scored 241 runs in 11 T20I matches with the highest score of 55 runs since making his debut against Pakistan in 2019. He has also scored 645 runs in 10 ODI matches for South Africa and has shined in domestic cricket as well. One of the users was in disbelief of Malan not making it to the squad.

Another Twitter user said that the South African captain Temba Bavuma will never fit into any other national team, but he is leading South Africa. The user further questioned how Bavuma became the captain?

A user sarcastically mocked South Africa’s choice of Temba Bavuma's picture in their announcement on Twitter. The user labelled the squad as a Test squad.

(Image: AP)