The T20 World Cup 2026, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, is now simply over a month away, with the match set to start on February 7. As the stress mounts, a number of main cricket boards, together with India and Australia, have already begun releasing their provisional squads, leaving followers to take a position on the ultimate lineups for the remaining powerhouses.
For South Africa, the continuing SA20 2026 league is serving as the final word audition floor, offering a high-stakes platform for veterans and rising stars alike to show their value. The competitors for the ultimate 15 spots is fiercer than ever, because the Proteas goal to lastly safe the world title that narrowly eluded them within the earlier version.
Dale Steyn backs South African participant white-ball assertion regardless of no T20 World Cup 2026 hope
Legendary quick bowler Dale Steyn has emerged as a vocal advocate for Simon Harmer’s inclusion within the South African T20 World Cup squad, citing the off-spinner’s unbelievable current kind and big-game temperament. Harmer has been in sensational contact, most lately scripting historical past through the Take a look at collection in India in late 2025, the place he took 17 wickets at a staggering common of 8.94, surpassing Steyn’s personal long-standing report for probably the most wickets by a South African in a collection on Indian soil.
Whereas usually seen primarily as a red-ball specialist, Harmer has been making a loud assertion within the shorter codecs; within the present SA20 2025/26 season, he was known as up by Durban’s Tremendous Giants to interchange the legendary Sunil Narine, instantly making an impression together with his management and wicket-taking skill. His T20 stats over the past yr present a big evolution, with an improved financial system price of 6.17 in his early 2026 appearances and a knack for selecting up essential middle-over breakthroughs. Steyn argues that on the spinning tracks of India and Sri Lanka the very circumstances the place Harmer simply dismantled the Indian Take a look at lineup, his expertise and 500+ first-class wickets turn into a useful asset.
Harmer’s skill to extract sharp bounce and switch, mixed together with his lower-order batting utility, makes him a singular tactical choice that Steyn believes the Proteas can not afford to disregard. Regardless of the selectors leaning towards Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi, Steyn insists that Harmer impact supplies the psychological edge and selection wanted for a World Cup marketing campaign.
“Simon Harmer received’t be chosen for the Proteas World Cup workforce, however significantly, he’s making a legitimate white ball assertion if I’ve ever seen one.” Steyn wrote on X.
Simon Harmer received’t be chosen for the Proteas World Cup workforce, however significantly, he’s making a legitimate white ball assertion if I’ve ever seen one.
— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) December 30, 2025
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South Africa’s heartbreaking journey to date in T20 World Cup historical past
South Africa’s journey via T20 World Cup historical past has been a saga of immense expertise usually met with heartbreaking conclusions. Because the inaugural match in 2007, which they hosted, the Proteas have participated in each version however have continuously been haunted by slender misses and web run-rate technicalities. Their most painful chapter got here in the latest T20 World Cup 2024, the place they reached their first-ever last throughout all codecs. Regardless of being in a successful place in opposition to India, they fell quick by simply seven runs, ending as runners-up.
Previous to that, they reached the semi-finals in 2009 and 2014, solely to be thwarted by Pakistan and India respectively. For a workforce that has produced T20 legends like AB de Villiers (their main run-scorer within the match with 717 runs) and Anrich Nortje (their highest wicket-taker with 35 scalps), the empty trophy cupboard stays a degree of nationwide obsession. As they head into 2026, the Proteas are determined to shed the “underachiever” label and eventually convert their constant top-tier performances into a world title.
Additionally READ: Harbhajan Singh picks the semifinalists of T20 World Cup 2026
