Former Proteas captain AB de Villiers has praised spinners Bjorn Fortuin and George Linde, who debuted during the recent tour of India.

Fortuin and Linde welcomed maiden T20I and Test caps, respectively, during a tour that brought a series draw and defeat in the respective formats.

Left-arm spinner Fortuin was particularly impressive in the final T20I in Bengaluru, snaring the key wickets of batsmen Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyar in victory for the tourists.

Linde debuted in last week’s final Test, clinching a first-innings four-for. He also weighed in with a couple of handy cameos with the bat down the order.

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‘Guys like Lutho Sipamla, Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen and a guy like Fortuin, who had a opportunity recently, and George – there’s so many that all of a sudden appear on the big stage and when they get an opportunity on international level, they seem to be ready,’ said De Villiers.

‘They seem more mature than they supposed to be at a young age, certainly more than I was when I was young, so a tournament like this is incredible important for the strength and the depth of our cricket in South Africa.’

De Villiers was referring to the second edition of the Mzansi Super League, which will be played later this year. He will represent the Tshwane Spartans, while Linde and Fortuin play for the Cape Town Blitz and Paarl Rocks, respectively.

‘A lot of youngsters came through, which, in my opinion, is the aim of the tournament and that’s to strengthen our cricket across South Africa and give youngsters the opportunity to mingle with some of the stars around the world,’ added De Villiers.

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