AB de Villiers to lead S. Africa in T20Is against England

Johannesburg, June 14 (IANS) Dynamic batsman AB de Villiers will lead South Africa in the upcoming Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket series against hosts England, to be held from June 21 to 25.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) said in a statement on Tuesday that De Villiers will lead the side in the absence of their regular T20I captain Faf du Plessis, who flies home for the birth of his first child.

The statement also mentioned South Africa One Day International (ODI) regular Dwaine Pretorius is the only uncapped member included in the squad.

"I would like to thank Farhaan Behardien for leading the side so ably in the recent series against Sri Lanka," said CSA National Selection Panel convener Linda Zondi. "We are indeed fortunate in the quality of our team leaders and Farhaan remains very much part of this group."

"We have also been impressed as a panel by the quality of players coming through our franchise and South Africa 'A' system and we are ready to give further opportunities to Andile Phehlukwayo, Mangaliso Mosehle, Jon-Jon Smuts and Dane Paterson, who all made their debuts in the recent series against Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, Lungi Ngidi could not be considered because of injury," he added.

Linda Zondi also mentioned that the South Africa tour of England would be a great opportunity for the inexperienced players to gel better with the experienced players of the team.

"This is an exciting opportunity for the newcomers to play alongside world-class and experienced players like AB, Farhaan, David Miller, Imran Tahir, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris and Wayne Parnell," he said.

Squad: AB de Villiers (captain), Farhaan Behardien, Reeza Hendricks, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Mangaliso Mosehle, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi, Jon-Jon Smuts