Working hard has once again earned an ICT cricketer a berth in a group of the last 17 players to take on New Zealand in series that will take place from 18 February to 4 March 2024, in Pretoria.
Mpumelelo Luthuli, a partially blind (B2) Information Technology student, is only one of such players selected from KwaZulu-Natal. Luthuli said he was “happy on how I have been improving from KZN Blind Cricket team to Blind Proteas. I feel my dreams are becoming real. I am so proud that I am one of the players who were selected for the first time to the national team”. Luthuli said he was ready for New Zealand. He trains every morning to “get my body in shape; and every Saturday I attend training with members of Team KZN Family. I am ready to play”. The South African team initially prepared for a tri-series, where they would be playing against New Zealand and Bangladesh. However, Bangladesh will no longer be part of the series.
The series against New Zealand will be forerunner of the Blind T20 World Cup that will be played in Pakistan, from 18 November to 3 December 2024.