Wolvaardt impressed by ‘exciting’ uncapped Proteas spinner ahead of T20 World Cup
Eighteen-year-old South African spinner has earned praise from skipper Laura Wolvaardt.
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 also competed with the South African Emerging Women's squad at the Africa Games in Ghana earlier this year.
Seshnie Naidu in action at the 2023 ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup // Getty Images
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 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.
“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.”
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],” Wolvaardt remarked. “Obviously, we have a few newer faces in the squad, 2-3 changes to what we had in India.
“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.”
When asked about areas for improvement, the skipper stressed the need to better their fielding.
“I think the first one we want to sharpen up on is probably our fielding. I think it's such a key aspect in tournaments like these. I think the best fielding sides often find themselves within the top four.”
South Africa are a part of Group B at the Women's T20 World Cup with Bangladesh, England, Scotland and West Indies.
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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).