Former South Africa international Dumisa Ngobe is surprised by the omission of Themba Zwane from the latest Bafana Bafana squad.
South Africa caretaker coach Molefi Ntseki announced the 23-man squad which will take on Zambia in an international friendly next month.
The local tactician has made nine changes to the squad which participated at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Egypt.
Brandon Petersen, Eric Mathoho, Thato Mokeke, Thapelo Morena, Rivaldo Coetzee, Lebohang Phiri, Keagan Dolly, Bradley Grobler and Kermit Erasmus have all been brought in by Ntseki.
However, Ngobe believes Orlando Pirates attacking midfielder Vincent Pule and Mamelodi Sundowns playmaker Zwane should have been included in the squad.
"Maybe they were selected based on form, but I feel Erasmus should have been part of the squad which was in Egypt," Ngobe told Goal.
"A player like Vincent Pule should also be a regular in the Bafana squad because he is a quality player. I don't understand the criteria which is used by the national team selectors when they select players.
"Erasmus and Pule should have been in Egypt because they have something special to offer and their presence would create depth in the squad.
"Zwane deserves to be part of the squad. There is no doubt about it. The player has been a pillar of strength for Sundowns. You need such players in the national team."
South Africa under-17 coach Ntseki was surprisingly appointed interim Bafana coach by the South African Football Association (Safa), having served as Baxter's assistant in Egypt.
Due to his lack of first-team coaching experience, Ngobe believes Ntseki will need an experienced bench to be a successful national team coach.
"Coach Molefi has been part of the Safa set-up for a very long time being one of the youth national team coaches. So, it is one of the reasons why he was appointed a caretaker coach," he added.
"Well, a lot of people have called on Safa to appoint a local coach, who understands our football after Baxter's departure.
"If they decide to go with coach Molefi, then I think it would be wise to set-up an experienced technical team which can help him because he would need some support from people, who are well-equipped."
Zambia will host South Africa on Saturday, September 7 at the Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka.
Bafana will use the match to prepare for the upcoming back-to-back 2021 Afcon qualifiers against Ghana and Sudan, to be played in November 2019.
