Kagiso Rabada will spearhead the Proteas attack in next month’s ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final against Australia, taking place from 11 – 15 June at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.

Rabada recently served a ban between April 3 and May 3 for failing a drug test. He has since made a return with the Indian Premier League (IPL) side, Gujarat Titans.

Proteas head coach Shukri Conrad named his 15-man squad on Tuesday, with Rabada making the cut. The pace attack includes Lungi Ngidi, who returns to the Test fold for the first time since October 2024.

Captain Temba Bavuma will lead the squad, and Conrad believes it is well-suited to the conditions at Lord’s.

“Firstly, I want to congratulate each of the players selected for this squad. It is a special moment for this group to contest the WTC Final. Over the past 18 months, we’ve worked hard to build a competitive red-ball unit, and this achievement reflects that progress,” he said.

“A key part of our success has been consistency in selection, and we’ve stuck with the core group of players who have been part of this WTC cycle. We’ve selected a balanced squad for the conditions we expect at Lord’s.

“I’m particularly pleased to welcome Lungi back in the side. He’s put in the work and offers us an experienced option with the ball.”

The team will assemble in Arundel on 31 May, playing Zimbabwe in a warm-up match from 3-6 June before moving to London on 7 June.

Squad:
T Bavuma (capt, DP World Lions), D Bedingham (WSB WP), C Bosch (Multiply Titans), T de Zorzi (WSB WP), M Jansen (Renault NW), K Maharaj (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), A Markram (Multiply Titans), W Mulder (DP World Lions), S Muthusamy (Dafabet Warriors), L Ngidi (Multiply Titans), D Paterson (WSB WP), K Rabada (DP World Lions), R Rickelton (DP World Lions), T Stubbs (Dafabet Warriors), K Verreynne (WSB WP).