T20 Cricket World Cup - Injuries open up places for SA20 stars

Simon Lewis

Editor

Last updated: 22 Jan 2026

Simon Lewis 22 Jan 2026

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Top SA20 batter Ryan Rickleton and hard-hitting Tristan Stubbs get late call-ups to the South African T20 World Cup squad.
The two stars have taken the place of injured duo Tony de Zorzi and Donovan Ferreira.
The T20 Cricket World takes place in India and Sri Lanka from 7 February to 8 March.

Marco Jansen celebrates with Tristan Stubbs and Ryan Rickelton (Getty Images).

Rickelton and Stubbs called-up to World Cup squad

Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs have replaced the injured Tony de Zorzi and Donovan Ferreira in the South African T20 World Cup squad. De Zorzi suffered a hamstring tear in India in December, while Ferreira's injury – a fractured shoulder – occurred while fielding in an SA20 match.

Rickelton and Stubbs called-up to World Cup squad
Rickelton leading the SA20 runs list
Tristan Stubbs a potential match-winner
Proteas hampered by a long injury list
South Africa’s update T20 World Cup squad

Rickelton leading the SA20 runs list

The omission of Ryan Rickelton from the initial squad caused outrage from many quarters as the left-hander started the season in storming form, going on to score two centuries in the tournament. He is currently in 2nd place in the runs list with 337 runs at an average of 42.12, just 10 runs behind the leader Quinton de Kock.

Tristan Stubbs a potential match-winner

Tristan Stubbs established himself early in his international career as a ferocious hitter in white-ball cricket, but he has gone off the boil in the last year. He has enjoyed a good season despite limited batting opportunities - he has scored just 129 runs in eight innings, but has been not out five times, which has limited his scoring opportunities.

Proteas hampered by a long injury list

Aside from losing De Zorzi and Ferreira, the Proteas also have injury concerns around David Miller, Lungi Ngidi and Dewald Brevis. Miller’s fitness is the biggest concern at present.

South Africa’s update T20 World Cup squad

Aiden Markram (c), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock (w), Marco Jansen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs (w).

Simon is a talented sports writer in South Africa with a strong focus on cricket having played first-team level for UCT, including playing at two Universities Weeks.

From a young age Simon was an avid reader of cricket magazines and books, and went on to be Editor of The Googly, CricketScene SA and SA Cricket, in addition to being a Features Writer on SA Sports Illustrated.

He has interviewed most of South Africa's premier cricketers and was the first writer to interview a teenaged Jacques Kallis.

Simon has also written about English and local football, rugby and cricket, in addition to major international tennis and golf stars and competitions.

You can follow more from Simon at Muckrack, X and LinkedIn.