By Razeen Gutta
South African teenage sensation Kwena Maphaka’s year is set to get even better as the left-arm bowler finds himself in the squad for the Proteas’ tour of the West Indies.
The 18-year-old was named player of the ICC U19 World Cup tournament. He took 21 wickets at an average of 9.71 before making his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for the Mumbai Indians.
Proteas head coach Rob Walter sees the three-match T20 series in the West Indies as a perfect opportunity to introduce the youngster to the international scene. The cricketing world is already watching the bowler closely.
“He is a wonderfully calm young guy and seems to have his head screwed on very well,” Walter said.
“We’ve seen him perform for the Lions in the domestic competition by bowling super overs and winning games for them and he performed well in the U19 World Cup. He seems to have a cool perspective on it all.”
Walter touched on the importance of Maphaka’s IPL stint, which he emphasised was massive despite his lack of performance.
“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 [Stadium] and got that under the belt,” he added.
“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.”
The first of three T20 internationals will kick off in Trinidad on Friday.
Pictured above: Kwena Maphaka.
Source: @wercricket
