SA vs WI: Temba Bavuma to lead as South Africa announces squad for West Indies Tests

image-le8k8mvcElgar removed from Test captaincy [Twitter]

Temba Bavuma appointed the new South African captain, as the Proteas' 15-member squad was unveiled for the Test series against West Indies, starting on February 28.

Apparently, Dean Elgar was the Proteas captain in the last Test series against Australia, but the captaincy arm band was taken from him and Bavuma has been trusted with the skippers' duties. However, he has relinquished the T20I captaincy, but will continue to lead the ODI side.

Dean Elgar is a part of the Test squad, but there are notable changes the selectors have made. Tony de Zorzi has been called-up for the first time in the Test squad, and the likes of Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, and Senuran Muthusamy make a return to the South African Test squad.

Markram had a poor 2022 in Tests, and was eventually dropped from the Australia Test series, which they lost 2-0. Moreover, Theunis de Bruyn recently announced his international retirement and that provides an opportunity for others to showcase their skills.

Opener, Sarel Erwee has also been dropped from the squad, after a string of poor performances in the Australia series. South Africa's rising star, Keegan Petersen makes his long awaited return. He suffered from Covid-19 and injuries, which kept him out of the squad.

The bowling unit remains intact. Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen will form a formidable trio.

As expected, Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj will have the responsibilities to lead the spin department.

The second Test match will take place on March 8, which will be followed by the ODI and the T20I series.

South Africa squad

Temba Bavuma (capt), Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Dean Elgar, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Anrich Nortje, Keegan Petersen, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton