Aakash Chopra has added that South Africa have failed under pressure in global events. The Proteasy are placed in Group D, alongside Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and their nemesis the Netherlands, in the 2024 T20 World Cup as well. And, they start their campaign against Sri Lanka in New York on Monday, June 3. They will then face the Netherlands and Bangladesh at the same venue before playing against Nepal in Kingstown as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “The eternal South Africa – I won’t use the ‘C’ (choke) word. Their story has been that they have been semi-finalists twice but have never won, and their situation is like that in ICC championships. They come close many times. When you see the team, it looks good, and the team is not looking bad this time as well,” he said (6:35).
The veteran also stated that the Proteas are a formidable unit this time around as well. Chopra picked Reeza Hendricks as one of the South African players to look out for, pointing out that the balance could go wrong if he doesn’t do well. He also added that the trio of Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller and Tristan Stubbs will be crucial for their finishing abilities as well.
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“If we see their batting – Aiden Markram, Reeza Hendricks, David Miller and Tristan Stubbs – I am talking about just the pure batters here. If we see the wicketkeepers – Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen and Ryan Rickelton. You will see Marco Jansen as an all-rounder. If you see the bowlers’ list – Ottneil Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Bjorn Fortuin, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and Tabraiz Shamsi – what a team. Batting unit – this could be a team like Hyderabad. It could be a very entertaining team to watch,” he added.
While saying that Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj are formidable spinners, the veteran also picked the lack of all-rounders in their weakness.
“Reeza Hendricks can be seen opening with Quinton de Kock. Aiden Markram at No. 3, Klaasen at No. 4, Miller, Tristan Stubbs, and then Marco Jansen. After that, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi and Ottneil Baartman. Baartman is a wicket-taker. They have outstanding spinners in Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj. One is a wrist-spinner and the other is a finger spinner. Their weakness is that they are slightly short of all-rounders. They don’t have a spin-bowling all-rounder. You see slightly less depth in batting because they lack all-rounders,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
