Batter Ryan Rickelton and pacer Ottniel Baartman are the two uncapped players named in South Africa's provisional squad to be led by Aiden Markram for the upcoming T20 World Cup to be held in the West Indies and the USA.

Rickelton was the leading run-getter in the SA20 with 530 runs at an average of 58.88 for MI Cape Town while Baartman bagged 18 wickets in eight matches for two time champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape.

Temba Bavuma, Rilee Rossouw and Wayne Parnell are the three players who played in the previous T20 World Cup in 2022 to not feature in the current squad. Rassie van der Dussen, who missed the 2022 edition due to a broken finger, is another notable absentee. Lungi Ngidi, who was also part of the 2022 squad, has been named as a travelling reserve along with Nandre Burger for the tournament.

Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, who is set to return to international action after a nine-month absence, will lead the pace attack, with Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee and Baartman being the other fast-bowling options for South Africa. Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi are the lead spinners in the side while they also have Bjorn Fortuin in the setup, with Markram and Tristan Stubbs also able to bowl spin.

South Africa's batting line up includes Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller and Stubbs, alongside Markram and Rickelton.

"Selecting this group was extremely tough considering the amount of T20 cricket that has been played recently and the form that has been on show. I want to congratulate the two uncapped players, Ryan and Ottniel, on their selection," said head coach Rob Walter.

"We have seen some incredible performances from our players in 2024 and that made my job very tough indeed. I am nonetheless proud and confident that we have named the strongest possible squad that no doubt has every chance of success in the West Indies and USA."

South Africa have also named a provisional squad for the three-match T20I series against West Indies which will be held before the T20 World Cup. But this squad is subject to change depending on the availability of the players who are currently playing in the IPL.

"Our preparations for the tournament will start with a three-match T20I series against West Indies. For this tour we will unfortunately be without most of the players who are currently involved in the IPL. But it does provide an opportunity for others, especially those who excelled in the CSA T20 Challenge. A captain for the group will be finalised closer to the time," said Walter.

South Africa squad for WI T20Is:

Ottniel Baartman, Matthew Breetzke, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Patrick Kruger, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter, Ryan Rickelton, Andile Phehlukwayo, Tabraiz Shamsi and Rassie van der Dussen.

South Africa, who are part of Group D, will face Sri Lanka in their opening T20 World Cup match on June 3 in New York. They will play the Netherlands on June 8 and Bangladesh on June 10 at the same venue. Their last group stage game is against Nepal on June 14 in St Vincent.