Ayabonga Khaka’s Personal Details:
Full Name: Ayabonga Khaka
Date of Birth: 18 July 1992
Batting Style: Right-hand batter
Bowling Style: Right-arm medium
Playing Role: Bowler
Ayabonga Khaka is one of the most trusted bowlers in South African women’s cricket. She is known for her accurate bowling, good control, and calm performances in big matches. Over the years, she has become an important part of South Africa’s bowling attack in both ODI and T20I cricket.
Khaka started playing cricket at the age of seven in her hometown Middledrift. She was the only girl in a boys’ cricket team during her early school years. Later, she continued playing cricket and slowly worked her way to the South African national team.
She made her international debut for South Africa in 2012 during a series against Bangladesh. Since then, she has become one of the most experienced players in the team.
In 2024, Khaka became the first Black African woman to play 100 ODIs for South Africa. It was a special moment in her career and an important achievement in South African cricket.
She has also played franchise cricket for teams like Guyana Amazon Warriors Women, Spirit Women, Supernovas, and Velocity.
Ayabonga Khaka’s T20I Career
Ayabonga Khaka made her T20I debut for South Africa against Bangladesh on 11 September 2012. Since then, she has been an important bowler for the team in T20 cricket.
So far, she has played 83 T20I matches and taken 74 wickets. Her best bowling figures in the format are 4 wickets for 23 runs. Khaka is known for keeping the run rate low and building pressure on batters. Her accurate bowling has helped South Africa many times in important matches.
She also played an important role in South Africa’s journey to the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. Even though she took only four wickets in the tournament, her economy rate of 6.23 helped South Africa control matches.
Ayabonga Khaka’s T20 Career
Khaka has also played franchise T20 cricket in different tournaments around the world. She played for Guyana Amazon Warriors Women in the Women’s Caribbean Premier League and also represented Supernovas and Velocity in women’s IPL tournaments.
In the 2022 FairBreak Invitational T20 tournament, she gave one of the best performances of her career by taking 5 wickets for 9 runs for Spirit Women. She finished the tournament with nine wickets and was included in the Team of the Tournament.
Her calm bowling and consistency make her an important player in every T20 team she plays for.
Recent Form Ahead of ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026
Ayabonga Khaka has shown good form before the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. In the recent T20I series against India Women in April 2026, she bowled important overs for South Africa.
In the first T20I in Durban, she took 3 wickets for 16 runs and helped South Africa win the match. She also took another wicket in the final T20I in Benoni.
Khaka continues to bring experience, control, and confidence to the South African bowling attack. Her ability to bowl well in pressure situations will make her an important player for South Africa in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.
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