Wolvaardt impressed by 'exciting' uncapped Proteas spinner ahead of T20 World Cup

New Delhi [India], September 15 (ANI): South Africa Women skipper Laura Wolvaardt heaped praise on the uncapped 18-year-old leg-spinner Seshnie Naidu, who has been selected for both the 2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup squad and the upcoming three-match bilateral series against Pakistan.

Naidu previously represented South Africa at the 2023 U19 Women's T20 World Cup, where she took five wickets across five matches. She was also part of the South African Emerging Women's squad at the Africa Games in Ghana earlier this year. Naidu is in line for her debut in the T20I series against Pakistan, starting 16 September and Wolvaardt expressed excitement about her potential heading into the tournament in the UAE.

"Very exciting young player. Hopefully, she (Naidu) gets a game, I think that will be awesome, especially if we have her in mind playing in the T20 World Cup, depending on how slow conditions are and how spin goes in those conditions," Wolvaardt said at the pre-series press conference as quoted by ICC.

"But I think it would be awesome for her to get a game within this series to get a taste of international cricket before we head over. Faced her a couple of times in the nets and I thought she has good control for such a young leg-spinner. Very exciting for the future and I hope she gets as much game time as she can," the right-hand opener added

Wolvaardt was also hopeful that the T20I series against Pakistan would help finalise their playing XI for the World Cup, given the valuable match experience it will provide. Apart from Naidu, South Africa also have an uncapped pacer in 20-year-old seamer Ayanda Hlubi, who could earn her maiden cap in the three-match series.

Wolvaardt highlighted the importance of giving young players in the squad ample playing time to acclimate to different conditions and gain experience. "I think [we are pretty] close [to finding the playing XI for the World Cup]. Obviously, we have a few newer faces in the squad, 2-3 changes to what we had in India," Wolvaardt remarked.

"I think it will be great for some of those younger players to get a chance to see what they have to offer, especially with the spin. I think the selection of the squad, obviously with the sub-continent in mind, we have got a couple of young spinners in. But a lot of it also depends on the opposition on the day and where we are playing. But I think we will be fairly close to having a final side in mind," the skipper concluded.

South Africa are a part of Group B at the Women's T20 World Cup with Bangladesh, England, Scotland and West Indies. Their campaign begins on the second day of the tournament against the Windies on 4 October, with subsequent matches against England (7 October), Scotland (9 October) and Bangladesh (12 October). (ANI)