For the first time in nearly eight months since its last outing at the ICC World T20 in the United Arab Emirates last year, South Africa will play an international Twenty20 match when it takes on India in a five-match series that starts in Delhi on Thursday.
The team started its practice sessions on Friday and skipper Temba Bavuma hoped to use the series as a chance for the team to get together after a long time.
When asked what he hopes to gain from this series considering the conditions are very different to the one in Australia, Bavuma said, “I think any type of competitive cricket will be good for us and we will be using the games to familiarise ourselves again with how we go about playing our cricket and getting the guys to understand what their roles are within the team.”
“We also want to solidify our positions from a batting point of view, especially at the top with who is going to partner Quinton de Kock,” the Proteas skipper said.
While South Africa will field a full-strength side, India has opted to rest some of its key players with K.L. Rahul leading the side in Rohit Sharma’s absence.
“We don’t see it as taking on a B side. We play against the Indian T20 side and the competitiveness will be there. I think the attitude, and the mindset of the Indian team in the last couple of years have changed. They are guys who play cricket hard and play very competitively,” said Bavuma, who anticipates a stern test from the home team.
“So I think whether Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli is not there, I think the Indian fighting spirit will still be there. We don’t expect them to take it easy on us. We don’t expect it to be any easier,” he added.
