Dale Steyn baffled by Proteas' decision to leave Ottneil Baartman out of T20 World Cup squad

Baartman, who was part of the Proteas side that lost the 2024 T20 World Cup final to India, has featured in only 11 of South Africa's 29 T20Is since then and was overlooked again for the 2026 tournament in India and Sri Lanka.

Selectors opted for a pace-heavy attack including Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, Anrich Nortje, Corbin Bosch and Kwena Maphaka, prioritising raw speed over variation.

The omission has raised eyebrows given Baartman's SA20 record. He recently became the competition's leading wicket-taker, overtaking Jansen, and has consistently delivered in high-pressure situations.

Steyn, who coached Baartman at Sunrisers Eastern Cape, described him as one of South Africa's best white-ball bowlers and said his achievements in a tournament packed with international talent made his exclusion difficult to justify.

"We really need to start looking at Baartman as one of SA's best white ball bowlers," said Steyn on X.

"He's the highest wicket taker in SA20, won the league twice and made a final, let me remind you, that's a comp that has 4 INTERNATIONAL players (often batters) plus all the PROTEAS! He's number 1.

Baartman underlined his value again at Newlands, claiming 2 for 8 in 2.4 overs as Paarl Royals bowled MI Cape Town out for a record low SA20 total.