Aaron Phangiso is a modest left-arm orthodox bowler who made his first-class debut for the Northerns in 2004. A lower order batsman, Phangiso has represented South Africa’s Under-19 side and after five fruitful seasons with the Northerns, he moved to the Highveld Lions. Under then coach Dave Nosworthy, he was more of a limited-overs bowler. In the 2009-10 Pro20 series, the left-armer had the best economy among other bowlers in the team.

Phangiso was promoted to the “A” side after impressive performances on the domestic front and soon, was a regular feature of South Africa A. In 2012, he was added to the Lions T20 squad ahead of their Champions League T20 campaign. Phangiso had a successful tournament, taking crucial wickets for the Lions when most needed. It was a dream come true for the youngster, when he bowled Sachin Tendulkar with a fine delivery in a match against the Mumbai Indians. Later that year, he was drafted into South Africa's T20I series against New Zealand, where he eventually made his international debut.