No AB de Villiers and Morné Morkel was a given; no Dale Steyn was all but confirmed last week; but no Imran Tahir? The legspinner is SA’s top-ranked one-day bowler‚ second among the world’s spinners and sixth overall. Why would the selectors not pick him for the five ODIs and the sole T20 SA will play in Sri Lanka in July and August? "We have taken the strategic decision to rest Imran Tahir so that we can get a clearer picture of who our best second spinner is to back him up at the World Cup‚" selection convener Linda Zondi was quoted as saying in a Cricket SA release on Monday that named SA’s squad. "Imran will be our first-choice spinner at the World Cup [in England next June] but if we play him against Sri Lanka it is unlikely that we will be able to play both Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj.
"By taking this route we will be able to play the two of them together. Tabraiz has been the outstanding bowler in franchise white-ball cricket this past season. Keshav has been outs...
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