South Africa captain left out of T20 World Cup squad after not meeting fitness requirement

South Africa has named their 15-member squad for the Women's T20 World Cup without the inclusion of captain Dane van Niekerk who has not been selected on fitness grounds. Sune Luus has been given the charge to lead the side in the absence of Niekerk. The Women's T20 World Cup will commence on 10th February.

South Africa captain hasn't been picked for the T20 World cup squad

South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk will not be participating in the Women's T20 World Cup starting next month on their home soil. The 29-year-old hasn't been involved in international cricket for a pretty long time and has failed to fulfill the fitness criteria needed for her selection.

Women's selection convenor Clinton du Preez revealed Niekerk had her chances to prove his fitness but didn't make it. "Dané was given an extensive opportunity to meet the minimum criteria, or the fitness benchmark for eligibility into the World Cup. "She recently did another fitness test and unfortunately did not meet the minimum criteria, and therefore she's missed out. It's purely based on the not meeting of the fitness criteria that she's missed out."

Niekerk was supposed to be a part of the team and even wasn't picked in the ongoing tri-series involving India and West Indies due to his fitness conditions. This could be a major dent in South Africa's World Cup ambitions and even du Preez insisted the player could have brought in much more expertise.  "Dané has been an integral part of the team. Her skill-set will always be missed on the field. We've had this discussion with her. We've extensively reminded her of that, and appreciated the hard work that she's put in to try to get to the fitness levels.

"It's about remaining consistent with our decisions. Many other players have gone down this route. Everyone is quite familiar with the situation and what is required."

He further added, "We considered everything. We had the discussion around what happens if Dané doesn't make it; how does that impact us? From a player point of view we've created succession in the leadership within the team. The morale of the team is fine. We were out yesterday as a team and they were chatting together nicely. I believe the team have pulled together and that they accept the decision we have made, and that is required for the good of our players."