Walter compares Peter to ferocious T20 bowler Rashid Khan

Proteas white-ball coach Rob Walter has compared Eastern Cape leg spinner Nqaba Peter to Afghanistan spin wizard and the most ferocious T20 bowler in the world, Rashid Khan, saying that he had big potential.

Walter said this when announcing his squad on Tuesday for the T20 World Cup in the US and West Indies in June and the provisional squad for the preceding three-match T20I series against the West Indies in May, of which the 21-year-old Peter is part. His selection was by virtue of his breakthrough performance for the Lions in the recent CSA T20 Challenge.

Former Eastern Cape Iinyathi player Peter picked up 20 wickets at 9.5 with an economy rate of 5.84 in the CSA T20 Challenge and played a huge hand in the Lions being crowned overall winners.

Like Khan, who is arguably the best leg spinner in the game after Australia’s Shane Warne and India’s Anil Kumble, exgeorge Randell High pupil Peter showed great pace variation and control.

His googly and quick action are much like Khan’s.

“He is a very exciting prospect. He bowls the ball nice and quickly,” Walter said. “Very Rashid Khan-like. “We see similarities in the way he bowls and his methods.

“We just thought the West Indies was a perfect opportunity to bring him along and expose him to an international tour and include him with our staff and get him to understand how we are looking to play our games.

“From an overall development point of view, it is a perfect opportunity there.”

Walter said he was first impressed by Peter’s bowling in the nets while they were in East London at Buffalo Park in 2023. Peter was playing for Iinyathi in 2023 before making his move to the Lions and was helping Proteas batters prepare for their West Indies game.

“I have watched him play a lot this season, in fact he bowled to us in the nets in East London when we were preparing for the West Indies one-dayers, when I first started with the team,” Walter said.

“He impressed the team and us then.

“Fortunately, he was able to move to the Lions, a division one team and got an opportunity to play.”

The provisional squad will assemble for a week-long camp from May 13-17 at the Centre of Excellence in Pretoria, with the final squad to be announced before their departure on May 18.