5 players who featured in the 2023 ODI World Cup for South Africa but didn’t make the 2025 Champions Trophy squad: Quinton de Kock to Gerald Coetzee

Cricket South Africa have recently announced their template for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to be held Pakistan i United Arab Emirates.

A well-prepared balance between experience and young talent can be seen in the South African team. The team will be led by its experienced campaigner Temba Bavuma who has already led the Proteas to the final of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) against Australia. However, South Africa are keen to win their first ICC trophy ahead of the WTC final and shake off their reputation of bottling major ICC tournaments throughout their cricketing history.

South Africa’s run in the 2023 ODI World Cup

South Africa started decently ODI World Cup held in India in 2023. The Proteas finished second in the group stage behind only India with 7 wins and 2 losses. However, they faced Australia in the semi-finals of the tournament where they were defeated by the then five-time world champions by 3 wickets. Thus, his long-time dream of winning a major ICC trophy could not come true. The Australians would defeat the winner of the second semi-final, India and win the prestigious title for a record sixth time.

Keeping the memories of that unsuccessful campaign in perspective, South Africa made several changes to their limited-overs bid to stake a strong claim on this year’s Champions Trophy. So, here are 5 South African players who played in ODI World Cup 2023 but did not make the Champions Trophy 2025 squad list.

Read also: Cricket South Africa announces squad for Champions Trophy 2025; Enrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi are back

5 players who will not play for South Africa in Champions Trophy 2025

1) Quinton de Kock:

The ace wicketkeeper with 6,770 runs in the ODI format for South Africa was the third highest run-scorer in the 2023 ODI World Cup with 594 runs to his name. The 32-year-old even retired from Test cricket in 2021 to focus on the limited overs format. However, there is uncertainty over whether he wants to play for South Africa again. De Kock has not played international cricket since South Africa’s 2024 T20 World Cup campaign. He was also not part of the South African squad in their recent white-ball series against Pakistan and India.

2) Gerald Coetzee

Young South African pace sensation Gerald Coetzee has been ruled out of the South African squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy due to a groin injury that has bothered him since the first Test match against Sri Lanka in Durban. The 24-year-old was previously ruled out for the Test, ODI and T20I series against Pakistan and a fixed date for his comeback to the South African squad is still unknown. Coetzee was South Africa’s star with the ball during the 2023 ODI World Cup where he took 20 wickets in 8 innings.

3) Andile Phehlukwayo

Andile Phehlukwayo is one of the South African players who showed promising signs in first-class cricket but failed to make a mark for the Proteas. He was part of South Africa’s ODI World Cup squad as a promising youngster with proven skills in South Africa’s domestic cricket. However, the 28-year-old could never make it big in the ODI format. He was recently given the chance against Pakistan in the ODI series but the all-rounder failed miserably. Phehlukwayo has scored just 883 runs and taken 97 wickets in 85 ODI matches for South Africa.

4) Reeza Hendricks

Reeza Hendricks has been an important part of the South African team in the T20I format. However, his ODI commitments are still uncertain. The 35-year-old last played 50-over cricket against Ireland in October 2024 and has since focused on playing T20 cricket for the Proteas. Hence, it seems highly unlikely that Hendricks will feature again in South Africa in the ODI format.

5) Lizaad Williams

Lizaad Williams was part of South Africa’s ODI squad against Ireland in October 2024, but the pacer has missed the opening matches of his SA20 side Joburg Super Kings. Due to injury problems and an unknown recovery time, the 31-year-old has been ruled out of the South African squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy.

Read also: Cricket Australia announces squad for Champions Trophy 2025; Pat Cummins will lead the team in Pakistan