IND vs SA, 1st T20I: South Africa captain Markram hopes new players hit the ground running

Having rested a number of leading players, the host has named batters Matthew Breetzke and Donovan Ferreira, and seamers Ottniel Baartman, Nandre Burger and Lizaad Williams in its squad for the series.

Aiden Markram during a training session at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium on Thursday. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

South Africa has several unfamiliar faces for the three-match T20I series with India that gets under way at Kingsmead on Sunday, but captain Aiden Markram said it will impose its attacking style ahead of next year’s World Cup.

Having rested a number of leading players, the host has named batters Matthew Breetzke and Donovan Ferreira, and seamers Ottniel Baartman, Nandre Burger and Lizaad Williams in its squad for the series.

Beuran Hendricks, who has not played for the team in over two years, was also a late inclusion on Friday after regular Lungi Ngidi pulled out with injury.

“We have played a lot against the new faces (in domestic cricket), but I suppose you’d like to know them better on a deeper level before going into a series with them,” Markram told reporters on Saturday.

“But we have had a few good days together getting to understand what gets them to tick. I suppose that is the nature of cricket nowadays, series come thick and fast and there will be stages where new guys come in and they are going to have to find their feet quickly.”

The T20 World Cup will be held in the West Indies and United States from June 4-30 and there are only a few opportunities for South Africa in the shortest format between now and then, with most of its players involved in domestic T20 leagues in the first half of next year.

“There is a lot of cricket in between but not a lot of cricket for us as a team together,” Markram said.

“As long as the guys understand the way that we want to try play as a team and can keep that close to them when playing in different leagues and tournaments. Then hopefully by the time we meet up for the World Cup, the guys are used to that brand and how we want to operate as a team.”

India’s all-format tour will start with three T20I matches in Durban, Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) and Johannesburg from Sunday to Thursday.

They then switch format for three One-Day Internationals between December 17-21, played in the latter two venues and Paarl.

The two-match Test series begins on December 26 in Pretoria, with the second fixture on January 3 at Newlands in Cape Town.