Kayla Reyneke has been named in South Africa’s squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup, having been called up to their senior squad for the first time earlier this year. After making an explosive start to her international career, winning two Player of the Match awards in her first four outings for South Africa, she spoke to Paul Edwards on her rapid and unexpected rise.
Kayla Reyneke was half asleep when she got an unexpected call. Initially, she thought it was her wake-up alarm, but before she could slam the snooze button, she realised it was a call from an unknown number.
“It was quite funny, I said ‘Hello, who’s this?’ and it was Coach Mandla [Mashymbi, South Africa Women's head coach]!” Reyneke says. “My family were all laughing because it was so unexpected,” she says. “I wasn’t planning on going on any tours or anything like that.”
An international call-up wasn’t on Reyneke’s radar. She had started brightly last season for her domestic team Western Province. She took 16 wickets across all formats as an off-spinner before being called away for the national team in February. At that point, however, she had struggled to make an impact with the bat, reaching double figures just once in eight innings.
However, since making her debut at Potchefstroom against Pakistan, she has announced herself on the international stage as an ice-cool power-hitter and match-winner. On her T20I debut, she scored an unbeaten 29 off 16 balls against Pakistan, clinching the winning runs with a six to inspire a fighting victory. She replicated that performance two months later on her ODI debut against New Zealand, hitting two sixes in the last over of the game to lead an unlikely win.
Those feats put her name in the record books as the first female cricketer to win player of the match on both her T20I and ODI debuts. In addition to creating an image of herself as a pressure specialist, she also bowled tidily, returning 2-13 on T20I debut and 0-17 against New Zealand.
“I still get goosebumps just talking about the game [her T20I debut],” says Reyneke. “Getting my first cap, then the national anthems, it was pretty emotional - a day I will never forget. Coach Mandla just told me to enjoy it and take it all in because obviously you’re debuting for your country. That’s massive!
“Before the game, I was stressing so much; my nerves were through the roof. But my mum and my aunt came to surprise me and when I saw them I was a lot calmer.”
"Cricket is our job but you need to have fun"
It wasn’t long ago that Reyneke made the decision to fully focus on cricket. She was South African javelin champion in her age group in 2019, throwing 45.97 metres at the age of 14. It’s a skill she shares with two of her teammates, with Tazmin Brits and Nadine De Klerk also being successful javelin throwers in their younger days. In another world, South Africa could have had three Olympic medalists rather than international cricketers.
“I didn’t do very well at the time [at javelin],” says Reyneke. “But I gave it a chance to see where it could take me. Obviously, athletics is not as big as cricket, so I left javelin to pursue that.”
Perhaps those early years as a field athlete contributed to the immense power Reyneke can generate with the bat. Another cross-sport skill is how calm she stays under immense pressure, lining up to throw the javelin as the rest of the competition watches bears some similarity to waiting to face the last ball of a game.
Watching Reyneke, you wouldn’t think ‘nervous’ is a word she had in her vocabulary. On the field, she can either be seen as calmness personified, or joking around with her teammates. Equally, her early performances for South Africa have demonstrated her innate ability to take the game deep and remain stoic under immense pressure.
“When I made my 50-over debut, Chloe [Tryon] said I’m quite annoying and irritating,” said Reyneke. “She’s the old one in the team so I like to pull her leg about it. I like joking around and have a bit of laughter because at the end of the day. Yes, cricket is our job but you need to have fun at the same time.”
"Everybody accepts who you are"
Only Karabo Meso is younger than Reyneke in South Africa’s T20 World Cup squad. Under Mandla, the Proteas have become one of the few sides in the world who have been able to replace their golden generation old guard with a steady pipeline of players ready for international cricket.
Having streamlined that process, some of that old guard is now returning. Former captain Dane van Neikerk reversed her decision to retire from international cricket last year, and Shabmin Ismail did the same in time for T20 World Cup selection. Both were picked in the squad. That leaves South Africa with one of the most complete playing groups in the competition, led by the world’s most in-form opening batter in Laura Wolvaardt.
It’s notable that South Africa have reached every ICC tournament final since Mandla, who Reyneke credits with creating an open environment, took over as head coach at the end of 2024. Before that, the side had been in a volatile place. Controversy over fitness standards had led to the retirement of both Van Niekerk and Lizelle Lee, while the side's captaincy had been in a state of flux for the previous 18 months. After a year and a half of Mandla’s leadership, South Africa go into the T20 World Cup on the cusp of the ‘favourites’ tag.
“Coach Mandla creates a space where you can be yourself,” says Reyneke. “The likes of Wolfie [Laura Wolvaardt], Chloe [Tryon] and Sune [Luus], they invite you and take you in with open arms. They are the seniors of the team and they want to give as much as possible of what they learned throughout their years to the youngsters coming in.
“That’s why I’m so proud to be South African. Not everyone has the same background but when it comes to being a unit, everybody accepts who you are.”
The addition of Reyneke to the squad has an air of the final piece of the puzzle for South Africa. Senior players are packed into their top-order, while Reyneke and Annerie Dercksen – a fellow young star – give them two players who relish big moments.
The confidence Reyneke shows at the crease was in some part built when she captained South Africa to the final of the U19 World Cup in 2025, where they lost to India by nine wickets. It was the ball rather than the bat that she starred in that tournament, taking 11 wickets at an average of 11.54.
“I love that pressure,” she says. “The scoreboard is very big on any cricket field so you’re always side-eyeing that thing but you’re also trying to focus on what’s happening in front of you. You want to do the job, but in wanting to do the job, you need to stay calm. If you’re going to think ahead, you’re like a bomb that is ticking and going to explode. So if you stay calm and just take a breather every ball and just say ‘I’ve got this’, it is possible.”
Having broken through a highly competitive field to secure international honours, Reyneke still has lofty ambitions of what she can achieve. Nevertheless, her family never fail to keep her in check.
“I do get regular messages from my mum, my dad and family members that keep me very humble and grounded,” she says. “What my mum basically says is, ‘Kayla, good game. I’m very proud of you. But always remember to keep your feet on the ground, stay humble, and we’ll go again to the next game.’ There’s always a ‘but’.”
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