Snubbed From T20 World Cup, Tristan Stubbs Predicted To Impress All In SA20 By JP Duminy

When South Africa announced their T20 World Cup squad, the most notable omission was Tristan Stubbs. In 42 T20I matches, Stubbs has scored 822 runs. He is also the captain of the SA20 team Sunrisers Eastern Cape, who are currently leaders on the points table. South African great JP Duminy backed him to do amazing things in the ongoing tournament. Stubbs, 25, has been rated as one of the most exciting young batters in the cricketing world and has slowly become a mainstay in all formats for South Africa, as well as being a proven finisher for Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

But his recent lean run in T20Is meant Jason Smith was picked ahead of him for the T20 World Cup, to be held in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8. Despite the surprising omission, Stubbs has excelled as a captain for the first time in the SA20 league, though his run tally stands at just 28 runs in five games.

"Again, I think it's a great opportunity to shift focus. There's no doubt there'd be disappointment for him. He's been part of pretty much all formats for a period of time, and to miss out would be really disappointing for him. But I think the opportunity from a leadership standpoint is that it shifts focus onto other people and other teams," Duminy said in a session facilitated by SA20.

"It's great to see him in that leadership role. I think he's got great leadership qualities, and the leadership quality that stands out for me-and I know he hasn't put in major performances just yet. But he's certainly somebody who comes to mind as leading through performance. Like, follow me, I'll show you the way, and that's a great leadership quality to have. I have no doubt that he'll do some amazing stuff in this SA20."

Duminy also felt Stubbs would be ready to fire with the bat if a chance to come in as a replacement player arises in next month's mega event.

"Hopefully, if an opportunity arises, we've often seen in times past where injuries occur. We've certainly seen it as a South African team as well. Obviously, there are some last-minute call-ups, and he certainly wants to give himself the best chance to make sure he's ready for that, if any," he said.

Catch all the action from SA20 LIVE on JioHotstar and Star Sports Network