He last played T20Is in November 2024.
After missing out on the first match in Cardiff, Keshav Maharaj continues to be excluded from South Africa’s combination. The 35-year-old was part of the ODIs last week. The left-arm spinner picked up eight wickets across three games to help South Africa clinch the historic ODI series win in England after 27 years.
The news from the match centre in Manchester for the second T20I is that Aiden Markram has won the coin toss and put the hosts to bat first.
Keshav Maharaj will miss the upcoming T20Is due to a left groin strain. The 30-year-old Bjorn Fortuin is a like-for-like replacement. He is available for selection in the second T20I.
Maharaj was imperative in South Africa’s success last week, scalping wickets at a low economy of 6.04. He was also the top wicket-taker for the Proteas in the series, which included a four-wicket haul from the first ODI in Leeds. Thus, his form may hurt the team’s chances of clinching another win.
However, Maharaj’s last appearance for South Africa in T20Is was in November last year. During the four-match home series against India, Maharaj’s performance was forgettable. He managed just four scalps in three games at an awful average of 45+.
Though the spinner’s snub was a no-brainer, his call-up to the format after almost a year would’ve been crucial for his T20 World Cup 2026 chances.
Overall, in the shortest format, Maharaj’s stats are decent with 38 wickets in 39 outings at an average of 25.84 and a 7.33 economy rate.
After representing Durban’s Super Giants for three years in the SA20 league, Maharaj was picked by Pretoria Capitals in the 2026 auction earlier this week.
England: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (w), Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (c), Tom Banton, Will Jacks, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Luke Wood, and Adil Rashid.
South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Ryan Rickelton (w), Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Bjorn Fortuin, Kwena Maphaka, and Lizaad Williams.
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Bjorn Fortuin’s last T20I was also a year ago, against Ireland in Dubai. Playing in the second match of the series, Fortuin was wicketless at the cost of 24 runs in two overs. He was hit for three sixes and was eventually benched for the next game. Though South Africa lost that match, they won the other two games to clinch the series.
Fortuin is already in England, as he was representing Hampshire in his maiden County Championship Division One match this season, against Sussex in Hove. He picked up five wickets across two innings. He had control over his bowling as his average of 7.80 and econ of 1.98 shows. With the willow, he added 17 runs in total.
Since his T20I debut in 2019, Fortuin has scalped 20 wickets in 25 matches. Whether he gets a chance to play the T20 World Cup next year is a test of time.
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