South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma feels there is not a lot of expectation from his side but it’s not all “doom and gloom” for the Proteas at the T20 World Cup despite their recent woes.
South Africa, which will head to the marquee event on the back of its white-ball series loss to India, has been hit by a spate of injuries.
The Proteas will miss the services of Rassie van der Dussen and Dwaine Pretorius.
Skipper Bavuma himself is under pressure as he has not been in good nick since his return from an elbow injury.
“I think it’s not all doom and gloom for us. We’re excited. We’re looking forward to this tournament and how far we can go,” Bavuma said at the captains’ press conference on Saturday.
“To be honest, the guys are in good spirits. We’ve obviously just come from India, where we didn’t have the best of series. But there’s still a lot of confidence that we can take throughout our season and the performances that we’ve put together as a team,” he added.
The South Africans have never won a World Cup and Bavuma feels his side will once again be flying under the radar at the marquee event.
“Probably not a lot of expectation around us as a team again. So, I guess for us we’ll be flying under the radar every day, doing the best that we can and preparing as well as we can for all the games and enjoy the journey as well.”
All-rounder Pretorius was ruled out of the T20 showpiece after sustaining an injury to his left thumb during the recently-concluded tour of India.
In his place, left-arm quick Marco Jansen has been added to the squad.
“Marco is a big addition for us. He comes in with extra bit of pace. He’s a left arm option as well that gives a bit more variety in our bowling attack. He comes at quite a steep length. Excited to see Marco in the squad. He’s been champing at the bit looking for his opportunity. We’re excited to see how much value he can add within the team,” Bavuma said.
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