Proteas fast bowler Lungi Ngidi has been in sensational form at the ICC T20 World Cup. Will he carry his form into the home summer when Australia and England are on our shores?
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South Africa will hope that the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup was the start of Lungi Ngidi’s dominance across all formats in international cricket ahead of what is a busy 2026/27 home summer with Australia, Bangladesh and England visiting our shores.
From the moment Lungi Ngidi earned his maiden international cap almost a decade ago, South Africa knew they had found a diamond.
20 years old at the time, tall, strong and bowling fast, South Africa’s bowling stocks looked promising, especially with a then 21-year-old Kagiso Rabada also coming to his own in international cricket.
South Africa was close to the closing of the old guard, with fast bowlers Dale Steyn, Morné Morkel and Vernon Philander at the tail end of their careers, while the youngsters Ngidi and Rabada were only getting started.
It seemed destined for Ngidi and Rabada to lead from the front for many years to come.
However, while Rabada dominated the world, being the fastest ever bowler to reach 300 Test wickets, Ngidi seemed to lag slightly.
He had not lived up to what many hoped he would become at the highest level, especially after starting his Test career with a five-wicket haul against a Virat Kohli-led India in Centurion.
He would go on to be dropped by Shukri Conrad when he first took over the Test coach role, citing that he believed that Ngidi was behind the pecking order, behind youngsters Gerald Coetzee, who were on an impressive rise at the time.
Ngidi had dropped in pace, a feat that largely got him into the Proteas squad in the first place. During the Test tours to England and Australia, he had been ineffective, leading to Conrad making the call to drop him.
That all seems like ages ago, especially after Ngidi delivered a very impressive run in the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, where he finished with 12 wickets at an economy rate of 7.19 and with best figures of 4/31 to go with his two player of the match awards.
During the tournament, he was not only South Africa’s best bowler, but also one of the most unplayable bowlers at the World Cup altogether.
He looked very clear with his plans, comfortable in his run-up and very assured as he left batters looking silly with his slower balls and stunned with his stock balls.
With South Africa set to host eight Test matches next summer, three against Australia in October, two against Bangladesh in November, and three against England in December, Conrad would hope that Ngidi would keep the confidence that he currently has.
Yes, T20 cricket and Test cricket are totally different, but confidence can be a real game-changer for a player.
A confident Ngidi, alongside Rabada, Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch, is a serious bowling attack, one that would keep even the best batters in the world up at night.
With South Africa out of the T20 World Cup, Ngidi will likely earn a couple of weeks of rest before joining up with the Delhi Capitals for the start of the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League.
After that, Ngidi and his Proteas teammates will put their focus on the all-important home summer.