3 reasons why Kwena Maphaka should debut for South Africa in T20Is vs West Indies

South Africa take on the West Indies in the first T20I of their three-match bilateral series at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad, on Friday, August 23. The other two matches of the series will also be played at the same venue.

The Test series precluding the T20Is was won by the visitors 1-0 and this will make the Windies hungry for success in the latter. They are also naturally better at this format than at others.

South Africa are likely to hand out a debut to young left-arm seamer Kwena Maphaka on Friday, and this is bound to give the youngster dollops of confidence. The 18-year-old has hardly played any competitive cricket so far but to walk out for the Proteas will be a matter of immense pride for him.

Indian fans will remember seeing Maphaka in a couple of matches for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL earlier this season against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals. He did not do well in either game but the experience must have been valuable.

In this listicle, we take a look at three reasons why Maphaka should make his debut against the West Indies:

#1 He offers variety as a left-armer

One of the biggest reasons why Maphaka should be given a go is because of the variety that he offers with the new ball. Being a left-arm seamer, the youngster will be expected to get the ball to swing back into right-handers.

His ability to swing and seam the ball when it is new will hold him in high regard and the batters of the West Indies will have to be extremely careful while trying to play their shots against him.

Left-arm seamers are generally fast tracked into senior cricket sooner than their right-hand counterparts are, and the same can be said about Maphaka too. He will be raring to go against the Windies.

#2 The management backs him to the hilt

Kwena Maphaka of South Africa poses after being named Player of the Match following the ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup South Africa 2024 Super Six match between South Africa and Sri Lanka.

Another reason why South Africa may feel that Maphaka is ready for the challenge is because their white-ball head coach Rob Walter thinks so. The latter believes in Maphaka's abilities and is willing to back him to the hilt.

Quite recently, Walter spoke about how highly he thinks about Maphaka's skillset and why the latter playing in the IPL for the Mumbai Indians in a couple of matches earlier this season gave him a lot of experience.

"We were chatting about the IPL experience and, as much as the performance wasn’t there, there are not many schoolboys who can say they’ve already run out in front of a full Wankhede and got that under the belt," Walter said to SA Cric Mag.

#3 He will benefit from the experience

Walter, in that same conversation, also went on to mention how this experience will benefit Maphaka and why he should be given an opportunity to become a part of the senior SA side and learn a lot from the seniors.

"Skillsets aside, I love his mindset and his calmness, and we see him as a strong potential for the Proteas moving forward. It was an ideal opportunity to get him on tour and into the system,” Walter had added.

This opportunity is bound to give Maphaka a lot of confidence in his ability given that he has played in just two first-class matches and a similar number of List A games in his career.

The 18-year-old has also turned out in just 11 T20 games so far in his young career, and if SA do indeed wish to hand him his debut against the Windies, it will be a massive step forward for him.