South Africa’s Ottneil Baartman reacts during the second T20 International cricket match of the series between India and South Africa at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh. (PTI Photo/Shiva Sharma) (PTI12_11_2025_000532B) New Delhi: Preparations for the T20 World Cup in South Africa have been marred by injury concerns. Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs replaced Tony de Zorzi and Donovan Ferreira. David Miller missed the series against the West Indies but was deemed fit to play in the 20-team competition co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.But it was in the bowling department that there was a real problem. Ottneil Baartman was left out of the squad despite taking five wickets, including a four-wicket haul, in three matches against India in December.
Ottneil Baartman press conference: Missing from T20 World Cup squad | SA20
The decision to leave Baartman out became even more controversial when the pitcher claimed he was not kept in the loop about the decision. This contrasts with Lhuan-dre Pretorius, who, while not in the squad, was given notice by the selectors.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!The conflict developed further when Patrick Moroney, the selectors’ convener, said he called Baartman after he was left out of the squad. At the same time, he shed light on the decision to leave Baartman out.
South Africa’s Ottneil Baartman plays the ball during the third T20 cricket match between India and South Africa in Dharamshala, India, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)
“Unfortunately there is no room in the side for (Lungi) Ngidi and Baartman. They pass more or less the same kind of pace and have the same variations,” Moroney told SportsBoom.“So you had to pick a player and Ottneil was very aware in the conversation we had on January 1st that he was part of the reserve list and that he would be watched. If that’s needed, then we’ll push his button if needed.”Despite having his leg heavily strapped in the latter stages of the SA20, Lungi Ngidi made the trip. So is 19-year-old Kwena Maphaka, despite picking up just four goals in eight games in the recently concluded SA20.Baartman, on the other hand, finished as the leading goalkeeper in the SA20. The 32-year-old has taken 20 wickets from nine matches at an average of 13.55 and an economy of 9.13. He hit a hat-trick during a five-goal run, the only goalscorer of the season, against the Pretoria Capitals. Incidentally, Ngidi was the second to get a hat-trick this season.A flurry of wickets in the fourth edition saw him become the highest wicket-taker in SA20 history with 61 wickets to his name – just one ahead of Marc Jansen – at an average of 15.15 and an economy of 8.32.Voices questioning the decision to drop Baartman from the World T20 squad found a familiar tone in the form of former South Africa seamer Dale Steyn.The Proteas legend, who worked with Baartman for three seasons as Sunrisers Eastern Cape bowling coach, wrote on social media: “He’s the highest wicket taker in SA20, won the league twice and reached the final, let me remind you this is a competition that has 4 INTERNATIONAL players (often batting) plus all the PROTEAS. “That’s TOP quality but he’ll be sitting at home for this year’s WC 20/20.”
A late bloomer from the ostrich capital of the world
In a country where cricket is a rich man’s sport and players are handpicked from elite private schools and academies, the 32-year-old Baartman is an outlier. He was born in the Klein Karoo region, in the small town of Oudtshoorn, nicknamed the “Ostrich Capital of the World”.Baartman, one of two children raised by a single mother, had no father figure in his childhood. His mother Maria took care of the family and made sure that none of the children went to sleep on an empty stomach.
New Chandigarh: South Africa’s Ottneil Baartman delivers a delivery during the second T20 International cricket match of the series between India and South Africa at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh. (PTI Photo/Shiva Sharma) (PTI12_11_2025_000514A)
“My mother was a mother and a father. I never had a father figure. I met my father, but he was never here,” Baartman previously said.“Raising me with nothing and being here means the world to me. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here.”“That’s huge for me. It’s still nothing, she’s doing it. I can’t help but feel emotional, but to raise two kids the way she did was special. The biggest thing for me right now is knowing I’m playing for my family.”His first foray into cricket came at the local Bridgton Sports Ground where his cousin Douglas played for the Union Stars Cricket Club. In the absence of television until his teenage years, this was Baartman’s only attempt at the sport. Everything he collected on the sidelines, he then replicated at home, on the street, with his friends.The dream of playing for the Proteas meant he needed to get out of Oudtshoorn, where top domestic cricket was lacking. After playing for South-Western Districts and Northern Cape at provincial level, he moved to the Free State province before jumping to KwaZulu-Natal with the much-fancied Dolphins.
South Africa’s Ottneil Baartman, front centre, celebrates with his teammates after taking the wicket of India’s Washington Sundar during the first cricket match of the ODI series between India and South Africa, at the JSCA International Stadium Complex, in Ranchi, Jharkhand. (PTI Photo/Kamal Kishore) (PTI11_30_2025_000306B)
It took ten years of toil in domestic cricket before he was recognized and selected for the national side. He was called up to the South Africa Test squad in 2021 but was not included in the playing XI. In the same year, he became the inaugural winner of the Makhaya Ntini Power of Cricket Award.The right-arm seamer finally got his due when he made his debut against the West Indies in May 2024. His ODI debut came not long after, against Ireland in October. Despite appearing in the 2024 T20 World Cup, Baartman played only 23 international matches, taking 30 wickets at an average of 23.2.While largely remaining on the sidelines for the Proteas, the 32-year-old has performed effectively in SA20 and T20 cricket. In the 2025 SA20 auction, Paarl Royals spent R5.1 million (Rs 51 million) on him. Elsewhere, he has been linked with Delhi Capitals in the IPL, Hampshire in the England T20 Blast and came on as an injury replacement for the Texas Super Kings in the US Major League Cricket (MLC).Now a father, his goal is the same as his mother’s — to focus on family.
India’s Kuldeep Yadav, left, congratulates South Africa’s Ottneil Baartman after winning the first ODI cricket match of the India-South Africa series, at the JSCA International Stadium Complex, in Ranchi, Jharkhand. (PTI Photo/Kamal Kishore) (PTI11_30_2025_000571B)
“My daughter, my son and my wife are back home now. I suppose they are screaming at home now, but yes, it means a lot to my family,” he said after his hat-trick and fifer this season.“I hardly saw them for the last four months. Of course I was in Pakistan and then I went to India from there and straight from there, it’s SA20.”“And then, probably from here, I will go back to the home franchise team. So probably to them (his family) because they sacrifice a lot. I don’t see them often, but yes, they support me so much from the sidelines.”
The bearded man likes Mohammed Shami
Somewhat ironically, Baartman was part of South Africa’s 2024 World T20 squad, rewarded for his 18-wicket performance in the second season of the SA20. Baartman, still uncapped, took five wickets in the tournament, including four against the Netherlands, when the squad was announced. His shining moment came against Nepal when he successfully defended 7 runs in the final.Since then, he has only played 11 of South’s 32 T20Is, taking 13 wickets in the process. Unlike Ngidi et al. who boast slower pace and variety in their arsenal, Baartman relies on his ability to get the ball to slip.In Indian conditions, the ball would have arrived quicker, stayed low and gone under the batsman’s swing arc, which would have made a big difference.
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Steyn likened Baartman at the start to an Indian seamer who also fails to get his due despite doing his job effectively in domestic cricket.“He reminds me a lot of Mohammed Shami, where his seam goes down, he’s got a great wrist and his lines are perfectly straight so he very rarely bowls a short wide ball or a ball that goes down the leg. Something like Henriche Nortje, his lines are straight and his seam is really good. He comes with little problems, it’s easy to train him in a specific zone when you’re training him.” to play at the highest level,” said the legendary bowler.Unfortunately, all of that doesn’t count as South Africa go into the T20 World Cup with their best white-ball bowler sitting at home.
