Khaka ready for T20 World Cup
CSA’s Women’s Player of the Year Ayabonga Khaka is primed
for the upcoming T20 World Cup in South Africa as the Momentum Proteas face Sri
Lanka in their competition opener on Friday at Newlands in Cape Town.
Khaka is no stranger to the international cricket community. The right-arm medium bowler started her career in 2012 when she made her debut for the Proteas at 20 against Bangladesh. Now in her 31st year, she’s one of the 15 Proteas Women who has been chosen to take on the world on home soil in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023.
The much-anticipated tournament kicks off this Friday as hosts South Africa play Sri Lanka at Newlands in Cape Town. The Protea women, fresh off their series win against the West Indies and India, have momentum and the home crowd on their side as they head into the tournament.
“The Tri-Series was preparation ahead of the World Cup for the team,” says Khaka. “We’re obviously happy with the result but the goal was to hone our game in the lead-up to the tournament. The win is a bonus.”
Hailing from Middledrift in the Eastern Cape, Khaka picked up the game early, playing the game against the boys and joined Mini Cricket when she got to Grade 1, at around age 7.
A consistent bowler wicket-taker with over 100 wickets to her name across all forms of the game, Khaka won Cricket South Africa’s Women’s Player of the Year for 2021/2022.
For Khaya, the biggest advantage of playing the World Cup at home in South Africa is the familiarity with the conditions: “While we haven’t played at all of the venues, there’s an advantage to understanding how the ball will perform and being able to adapt to the conditions quickly.”
“It’s all up to us now to execute. It’s time to make it happen.”
