South Africa announce squad for Zimbabwe Tests; Dewald Brevis, Lhuan-dré Pretorius called

Ahead of the next World Test Championship cycle (2025-27), South Africa have announced a 16-member squad for their upcoming two-match series against Zimbabwe, to be played from June 28 to July 10 in Bulawayo. The squad includes five uncapped players, including the 19-year-old batter Lhuan-dré Pretorius.

The series, not part of the World Test Championship, is set to be an ideal platform for experimentation and talent development. South Africa's head coach, Shukri Conrad, has used the opportunity to bring new talent while resting several senior players, which has the likes of Aiden Markram, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Marco Jansen, and Tristan Stubbs.

Pretorius, who came up the ranks after solid domestic cricket performances, has risen through the ranks for a potential debut in whites for the Rainbow Nation. The youngster slammed three centuries in just five first-class matches for the Titans, including a match-saving 114 in the final, and averages over 65.00 in the red-ball format.

Joining him are Lesego Senokwane, another Titans batter who scored 559 runs in the domestic season, and Lions’ right-arm seamer Codi Yusuf, who took 23 wickets at 22.39. Dewald Brevis and Prenelan Subrayen are also included and are in line for their Test debuts.

"Dewald deserves a lot of credit for how he has progressed over the past 12 months. He's shown real growth and maturity in the longer format, and it's encouraging to see him evolving into a more complete cricketer," Conrad said in a CSA statement.

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Meanwhile, Subrayen’s recent performance for South Africa A saw him score an important half-century and take five wickets in a four-day match against West Indies A. On the other hand, Gerald Coetzee is being managed for long-term red-ball fitness, Nandre Burger is recovering after a back injury with T20 cricket, and Lizaad Williams is in the final phase of recovery from knee surgery, and are all set to miss the tour.

Test skipper Temba Bavuma will lead a young squad in Zimbabwe, with Lungi Ngidi and Zubayr Hamza also named in the mix. The team will depart for Zimbabwe on June 24, with the first Test scheduled from June 28 to July 2 and the second from July 6 to 10, both at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.

South Africa squad for Test series against Zimbabwe

Temba Bavuma, David Bedingham, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Corbin Bosch, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Lesego Senokwane, Prenelan Subrayen, Kyle Verreynne, Codi Yusuf