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Cricket South Africa recently announced its roster for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to take place in Pakistan and United Arab Emirates.
A well-crafted balance between experience and young talent can be seen in the South African team. The team will be led by its experienced activist. Temba Bavuma who already led the Proteas to the final of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) against Australia. However, South Africa are looking to win their first ICC trophy before the WTC finals and emerge from their reputation of botching major ICC tournaments throughout their cricket history.
South Africa’s run at the 2023 ODI World Cup
South Africa got off to a decent start in the ODI World Cup held in India back in 2023. The Proteas came second in the group stage only behind India with 7 wins and 2 losses. However, they faced Australia in the semi-finals of the tournament, where they were defeated by the then five-time world champions by 3 wickets. Therefore, his old dream of winning a major ICC trophy could not come true. The Australians would defeat the winner of the second semi-final. India and win the prestigious title for a record sixth time.
Keeping memories of this failed campaign in perspective, South Africa made several changes to their limited overs claim to make a strong claim on the Champions Trophy this year. So, here are 5 South African players who played in the ODI world cup 2023 but failed to make it to the Champions Trophy 2025 squad.
Also Read: Cricket South Africa announces squad for Champions Trophy 2025; Enrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi return
5 players who will not play for South Africa in Champions Trophy 2025
1) Quinton de Kock:
The ace batsman with 6,770 runs in the ODI format for South Africa was the third highest run-scorer in the ODI World Cup 2023 with 594 runs to his name. The 32-year-old even retired from Test cricket in 2021 to focus on the limited overs format. However, there is uncertainty over whether he wants to play for South Africa again. De Kock has not played international cricket since South Africa’s 2024 T20 World Cup campaign. He was also not part of the South African team in their recent white-ball series against Pakistan and India.
2) Gerald Coetzee
The young South African Gerald Coetzee, sensation of pace, has been left out of the South African team for the Champions Trophy 2025 due to a groin injury that has been bothering him since the first Test Match against Sri Lanka in Durban. The 24-year-old was earlier ruled out of the Test, ODI and T20I series against Pakistan and a fixed date for his return to the South African team is still unknown. Coetzee was South Africa’s star player with the ball during the 2023 ODI World Cup, where he took 20 wickets in 8 innings.
3) Andile Phehlukwayo
Andile Phehlukwayo is among the South African players who showed promising signs in first-class cricket but failed to make a mark for the Proteas. He was part of South Africa’s ODI World Cup squad as a promising youngster with proven all-round skills in South African domestic cricket. However, the 28-year-old could never make it big in the ODI format. He recently got a chance against Pakistan in the ODI series but the all-rounder failed miserably. Phehlukwayo scored only 883 runs and took 97 wickets in 85 ODI matches for South Africa.
4) Reeza Hendricks
Reeza Hendricks has been an important part of the South African team in the T20I format. However, his ODI commitments are still uncertain. The 35-year-old last played 50-over cricket against Ireland in October 2024 and has since focused on playing T20 cricket for the Proteas. Therefore, it seems highly unlikely that Hendricks will feature again for South Africa in the ODI format.
5) Lizaad Williams
Lizaad Williams was part of South Africa’s ODI squad against Ireland in October 2024, however, the pacer missed the opening matches of his SA20 team, Joburg Super Kings. Due to injury issues and an unknown recovery time, the 31-year-old has been ruled out of the South African squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
