Best 11 of Paarl Royals ahead of SA20 2024 

Paarl Royals (PR) barely made it to the knockouts of the SA20 2023. They had a superior net run rate over Durban Super Giants (DSG) and finished fourth in the inaugural edition of the tournament.

The Royals faced Pretoria Capitals (PC) in the first semi-final, where they eventually lost and the Capitals made it to the summit clash.

The side, captained by David Miller, went on to win four of their 10 league-stage matches, losing five of them. One of their games against Joburg Super Kings (JSK) ended in a no-result due to rain.

Unsurprisingly, Jos Buttler ended up as the side's highest run-getter with 391 runs. Meanwhile, Bjorn Fortuin took the most wickets for the franchise with 14 scalps.

The side had 19 players in the first edition but released the likes of Eoin Morgan, Corbin Bosch, Ramon Simmonds and Imran Manack. The franchise signed some new players to fill the gaps left by the departed players.

The Paarl Royals will kickstart their SA20 2024 campaign against Pretoria Capitals and will look to go the distance this time around. They got a great bunch of high-quality batters with a potent bowling lineup.

Based on the overall composition and team balance, let us look at the best playing XI for the Paarl Royals ahead of the 2024 SA20 season.

Paarl Royals' Squad for SA T20 2024:

David Miller (C), Jos Buttler (wk), Jason Roy, Evan Jones, Wihan Lubbe, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dane Vilas, Ferisco Adams, Mitchell van Buuren, Codi Yusuf, Bjorn Fortuin, Nkaba Peter, Lungi Ngidi, Obed McCoy, Tabraiz Shamsi, Fabian Allen, John Turner, Lorcan Tucker, Keith Dudgeon

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Openers: Jos Buttler (wk) and Jason Roy

Jos Buttler for Paarl Royals

Paarl Royals will have one of the most destructive opening duos in the form of Jos Buttler and Jason Roy. The two Englishmen are known for their hard-hitting abilities and will be vital to their team's success in the upcoming edition.

As mentioned earlier, Buttler had a stellar campaign for the Royals last year as he scored 391 runs at an average and a strike rate of 39.10 and 132.54, respectively.

Roy, meanwhile, somewhat struggled and didn't find his groove in the entire season. He only made 171 runs at an average of 15.54. He, however, will look to make his mark this time around.

Roy has a plethora of experience behind him, having accumulated 8,640 runs at a strike rate of above 141 across 327 T20 innings in his career.

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Middle-order: Wihan Lubbe, Dane Vilas and David Miller (C)

David Miller - The Paarl Royals' captain

After two overseas players in the opening slot, the middle order for the Paarl Royals will see South Africans. Wihan Lubbe, Dane Vilas and David Miller are expected to dominate the middle and death overs.

Lubbe has been playing competitive cricket for more than a decade now and even featured in a couple of T20Is for South Africa in 2021. He is a top-order left-hand batter and can roll his arm over as well. With 80 T20 appearances, Lubbe has scored 1,592 runs, including nine fifties and a century.

Another local talent for the Royals is Dane Vilas, who has a wealth of experience. In fact, Vilas made his List-A debut way back in 2006 and has played 199 first-class, 185 List-A, and 223 T20 matches.

In the shortest format of the game, the 38-year-old has accumulated 4,129 runs at an average of 28.08, including 16 half-centuries.

The middle-order will be marshalled by David Miller, who is also the captain of the side. The swashbuckling southpaw is one of the best finishers in white-ball cricket and will play a vital role for the Paarl Royals.

In the previous edition, Miller ended up as the second-highest run-getter for the Royals, scoring 227 runs at an average of 32.42. Incredibly, no other South African player has scored more T20 runs than Miller's remarkable 9,779 runs across 413 T20 innings.

The 34-year-old would want to have a great tournament ahead and complete his 10,000 T20 runs as soon as he can.

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All-rounders: Andile Phehlukwayo and Fabian Allen

Andile Phehlukwayo with his teammates at Paarl Royals

While the side have got a bunch of all-rounders, two of their best multi-faceted players are Andile Phehlukwayo and Fabian Allen. Phehlukwayo is a medium-pace all-rounder and Allen is a great left-arm spin-bowling option.

Phehlukwayo regularly features in both of South Africa's white-ball sides and has played 122 international games for the Proteas. He was with the Royals last season as well and took six wickets at a great average of 16.33 across three innings.

Meanwhile, Allen is a brilliant utility player who can deliver in all three departments of the game. His disciplined, orthodox left-arm spin can be used inside the powerplay as well. He can even strike the ball long and hard, apart from being a fabulous outfielder.

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Bowlers: Bjorn Fortuin, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi, and Obed McCoy

Lungisani Ngidi for the Paarl Royals

The playing XI will conclude with four prolific bowlers: Bjorn Fortuin, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi, and Obed McCoy.

Fortuin and Shamsi will lead the spin department. Both have quite a lot of experience bowling in South African conditions, especially Shamsi, who is a former No. 1 ranked T20I bowler as well.

As mentioned earlier, Fortuin was the franchise's highest wicket-taker last year, with 14 scalps at a miserly economy of 6.45. He is a handy customer with the bat as well, with five first-class centuries to his name.

Shamsi, meanwhile, is considered one of the best modern-day spinners to play for South Africa. His left-arm chinaman always keeps batters on their toes and can be quite threatening if there's any hint of slowness on the pitch. Having played 232 T20s in his career, Shamsi has scalped 269 wickets at a great strike rate of 18.00, including seven four-wicket hauls and a fifer.

Lungi Ngidi and Obed McCoy will be the two genuine fast bowlers for the Royals. While Ngidi is one of the most prominent names in South Africa, McCoy will be the fourth overseas option for the franchise.

Ngidi took 11 wickets at a great economy rate of 7.16 across nine innings for the Royals last year. His hit-the-deck deliveries at Boland Park can be tough to negotiate for any batter.

McCoy, meanwhile, will be another left-arm bowling option. The West Indian pacer was in the Royals' squad last year as well but missed the season due to an injury. He, however, will now be raring to make his mark in the SA20.

The left-arm pacer is handy at varying his pace and also has a rocketing bouncer with him. McCoy shot to the limelight when he returned with fabulous figures of 6/17 in a T20I game against India in Basseterre in 2022.

In total, McCoy has played 85 T20 matches and has 112 wickets to his name at a superb bowling strike rate of 15.2.

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Paarl Royals' best playing 11 for SA20 2024:

Jos Buttler (wk), Jason Roy, Wihaan Lubbe, Dane Vilas, David Miller (c), Andile Phehlukwayo, Fabian Allen, Bjorn Fortuin, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi, and Obed McCoy