Nonkululeko Mlaba is a young prospect from South Africa’s very own Women’s National Week. She is a slow left-arm bowler who has come through the grassroots and showcased her temperament at the highest level. Mlaba started playing the sport at a young age of 13 years. The youngster then got selected for the CSA National U-19 Girls tournaments at the age of 16 years. The spinner consistently performed at the U-19 level and her five-wicket haul, at Bloemfontein, was regarded as one of the finest. Her consistent performances led her way to the South Africa School Side Tournaments in late December 2018 and she hasn’t looked behind since. A year later, she was called for the T20I series tour of India where she played her maiden T20I game at Surat but went wicketless on debut. In January 2020, the spinner was selected for the home series against New Zealand. However, she made her ODI debut against Pakistan, at Durban, and enjoyed the outings with figures of 10-2-19-1, including the wicket of Javeria Khan. Later that month, after playing just a handful of matches, Mlaba was named for ICC T20 Women’s World Cup 2020 in Australia. Mlaba has a little experience under her belt but in a little span of time, Mlaba has shown a lot of promise. In 2020, she was awarded the Women's Newcomer of the Year by Cricket South Africa that speaks volumes about Mlaba and her talent. (As of March 2021)
