The Highveld Lions remain optimistic that Lonwabo Tsotsobe will feature for them at next month’s Champions Lea-gue T20 competition in India.
Tsotsobe joined the Lions in the off-season and would normally not be eligible for the lucrative tournament because he wasn’t part of the Lions’ squad that won last season’s RamSlam T20 challenge.
The Lions have written a number of letters to the CLT20 organisers in recent weeks and submitted a squad on Monday. The only reply they received from the organisers was that Chris Morris wasn’t available for the Lions because he would be playing for his Indian Premier League side, the Chennai Super Kings.
The CLT20 organisers have previously been relaxed about squad changes – in 2011 they allowed the Mumbai Indians to field five overseas players in their starting team, despite the rules for IPL sides that normally only allow for four.
Tsotsobe’s international profile may even help the Lions’ cause as the event’s organisers would be keen to have a big-name participant.
However, just in case Tsotsobe isn’t allowed, the Lions have a contingency plan in the shape of tall right-arm seamer Pumelela Matshikwe.
The Lions will stick largely to the squad that brought them success last season, with Rassie van der Dussen, who played in the last two RamSlam matches – one of which was the final – set to open with Quinton de Kock.
The latter has not been roped in by his IPL side, the Hyderabad Sunrisers who will play in the qualifying phase of the tournament.
Skipper Alviro Petersen, Neil McKenzie, Jean Symes, Thami Tsolekile and overseas professional Sohail Tanvir provide the experienced core of a Lions side that will be firmly under the spotlight after their surprise runners-up finish in the competition last year.
Tsolekile’s inclusion may appear curious given he played no part in last season’s RamSlam, but the 33 year old’s immense experience – he’s been a part of the Lions’ two previous Champions League campaigns – even if only as a squad member, is invaluable. De Kock will wear the the wicketkeeping gloves.
The Lions will have a four-day training camp in Potchefstroom starting on September 10, where besides playing a few matches, they will also hope to replicate pitch conditions they are likely to find in India.
They play their first match in the CLT20 against Australian outfit, the Perth Scorchers, in Ahmedabad on September 23.
The Lions are in Group A which also features this season’s IPL champions, the Mumbai Indians, the Rajasthan Royals and a side from the qualifying event which precedes the tournament.
South Africa’s other representative, the Titans, semi-finalists in the CLT20 last year, play their first match against Chennai on September 22.
Lions squad (possible): Rassie van der Dussen, Quinton de Kock, Alviro Petersen (captain), Neil McKenzie, Gulam Bodi, Dwaine Pretorius, Jean Symes, Aaron Phangiso, Imran Tahir, Sohail Tanvir, Hardus Viljoen, Ethan O’Reilly, Thami Tsolekile, Lonwabo Tsotsobe/Pumelela Matshikwe - The Star