EXCLUSIVE | Shabnim Ismail set for sensational Proteas return ahead of 2026 T20 World Cup

Shabnim Ismail is set to make a shock comeback to international cricket when the Proteas Women’s squad for next month’s ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is announced later on Monday.

The 37-year-old fast bowler, who made her Proteas debut all the way back in 2007, retired from international cricket after the home T20 World Cup in 2023, when the hosts reached the final for the first time.

The Proteas have since qualified for a second successive T20 World Cup final in 2024, before also progressing to the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup final last year in India.

As Independent Media reported last month, Cricket South Africa director of cricket Enoch Nkwe and Proteas head coach Mandla Mashimbyi were in talks with Ismail in an attempt to convince the veteran pacer to reverse her international retirement. It is now understood that the two parties have reached an agreement.

The Proteas have failed to find a like-for-like replacement for Ismail over the past three years, with Mashimbyi stating after the New Zealand tour: "We’d like to have some pace, but there is nothing on offer at the moment.”

Prior to the recent India series, Mashimbyi publicly stated: “It would be nice to have a player of Shabnim’s calibre in our bowling attack, to be honest with you. So, maybe she will call me tomorrow, you know, and if she does, that would be great, to be honest with you.”

Although Ismail has not played any international cricket for the past three years, she has kept herself in peak physical condition. Equally, she has been a star performer in various T20 leagues around the world, most notably in the Women’s Premier League, BBL, and The Hundred.

It is likely that Ismail will reunite with her longtime new-ball partner, Marizanne Kapp.

Kapp, 36, has also featured only sporadically for the Proteas over the past season, with the all-rounder playing only two T20Is against Pakistan back in February. The veteran missed both the full tour of New Zealand and the five-match T20I series against India last month due to illness.

Kapp is expected to be named in the 15-player squad along with her wife and fellow all-rounder, Dane van Niekerk, who also last played for the Proteas during the Pakistan series.

Van Niekerk, who came out of retirement last year as well, has overcome a calf injury and is set to play in her first major ICC tournament since controversially being left out of the Proteas’ T20 World Cup squad in 2023 on fitness grounds.

The Proteas open their T20 World Cup campaign against six-time champions Australia in Manchester on 13 June.

LIKELY PROTEAS ICC T20 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP SQUAD 

Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Anneke Bosch/Tazmin Brits, Shabnim Ismail, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Suné Luus, Karabo Meso, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Dane van Niekerk, Kayla Reyneke, Tumi Sekhukhune, Chloé Tryon.