Cape Town - South Africa's 1999 World Cup hero Lance Kusener believes that the Proteas should back Hashim Amla for the 2019 tournament in England.

The Proteas will announce their 15-man squad for the tournament on Thursday, with a cloud of doubt hovering over whether or not Amla will be included. 

The 36-year-old, who has just come back from over a month away from the game as he attended to his critically ill father, has been struggling for consistency in all formats for over a year. 

He has played all five of the Cape Cobras' matches in the CSA T20 Challenge over the last two weeks, but his poor form continued against the Knights on Tuesday when he made just 4. 

It leaves him with 61 runs from his 5 knocks since returning. 

Amla is largely considered to be up against Reeza Hendricks for the final Proteas spot, and that will be the one selection that stands out when the squad is announced on Thursday. 

Klusener, who was named man-of-the-tournament at the 1999 World Cup when he got the Proteas agonisingly close to the final, believes that Amla should be on the plane to England. 

"It's simple ... he has to go," Klusener told Netwerk24. 

"He has played there and is familiar with the conditions in England."

Another former Proteas, Andrew Hall, also believes that Amla should be in the squad while he also believes that left-arm seamer Beuran Hendricks should be included to add some variety to the bowling attack. 

South Africa will play in the tournament opener against England at The Oval on May 30.