Who is Andile Simelane? 3 interesting facts about uncapped South Africa seamer picked for Afghanistan and Ireland series
South Africa delivered fresh blows to several experienced stars when they named a fresh-look line-up for their tour of the UAE later this month, in which they will play Afghanistan and Ireland in white-ball matches. Several big names such as Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Marco Jansen, Tabraiz Shamsi, Gerald Coetzee, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, and Heinrich Klaasen have been omitted from the squads.
Andile Simelane, a seam-bowling all-rounder, is one of the newest names in the squad; he has been picked for both the T20Is and ODIs. The 21-year-old's inclusion is bound to raise eyebrows as he has hardly played any senior cricket.
Simelane has played just seven first-class, 20 List A, and 20 T20 matches in his senior career, and this is bound to go against him. However, he will hope to spring a surprise or two upon SA's opponents in this series.
In this listicle, we take a look at three interesting facts about Simelane:
#1 He played white-ball cricket before first-class
In one of the surest signs of the times, Simelane made his List A and T20 debuts much before he dipped his toe into first-class cricket. The 23-year-old made his List A, T20, and first-class debuts in 2020, 2021, and 2023, respectively.
Although he has been picked by the Proteas purely for the white-ball games against Afghanistan and Ireland, Simelane will be keen on going back to domestic cricket and getting some first-class experience under his belt.
He has played in just seven first-class, 20 List A, and 20 T20 games so far in his career, which makes it a shocking choice for the selectors to go for him. The youngster has hardly been around long enough to stake his contention.
#2 He has played for South Africa U-19s
Simelane first entered the limelight when he was picked for the South Africa U-19 team ahead of the 2022 ICC U-19 World Cup held in the West Indies. Most recently, he scored 115 against Zimbabwe Emerging in a one-day game.
He earned his spot in the U-19 World Cup side based on consistent performances in the CSA Provincial knock-out T20 tournament in 2021-22. Simelane will be keen on translating his potential to the international level too.
#3 He was picked by Sunrisers Eastern Cape
Although the young all-rounder was picked by Sunrisers Eastern Cape for SA20, he didn't receive any opportunities. However, the time he spent with the team must have been beneficial for him
Simelane would have learned a lot by spending time in the dressing room with seniors and getting to experience what their work ethics are like. He will wish to translate his learnings into performances now that South Africa have selected him.