The South Africa Cricket Team will look to win their maiden ICC T20 World Cup title when they begin the tournament against Sri Lanka on 3rd June in New York.
South Africa was knocked out of the Super 12 stage as they lost to the Netherlands in the final league game to help Pakistan qualify for the semi-finals. They will look to play attacking cricket in the Group stage along with Sri Lanka, Netherlands, Nepal, and Bangladesh and qualify for the Super 8.
History of South Africa in T20 World Cups
South Africa has never won T20 World Cup history since its inception in 2007. They would look to win their maiden title in the shortest format. South Africa has played a total of 40 matches in the T20 World Cup history with 24 wins, 15 losses, and 1 no-result. Their best performances came during the 2009 and 2014 editions where they reached the semi-finals on both occasions.
The Proteas looked good to qualify for the semi-finals before they lost to Pakistan and Netherlands in the 2022 edition played in Australia. South Africa’s match against the Netherlands was washed out before they thrashed Bangladesh and India. They suffered losses against Pakistan and Netherlands to be knocked out in the Super 12 stage.
Strengths
The South African batting order looks quite strong. Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks would open the innings. De Kock has experience of playing attacking cricket in the first six overs which would put enough pressure on the bowlers.
Aiden Markram comes at number 3 which is an important position for any team. He can play attacking cricket. Tristian Stubbs, David Miller, and Klassen comprise middle-order batters. Stubbs, Miller, and Klassen can create panic among the bowlers with their power-hitting.
Ryan Rickleton could be an ideal option who had a great SA T20 2024. Stubbs, Miller and Klassen looked impressive with top-quality performances in the recently concluded Indian Premier League 2024.
Rilee Rossouw finished as the leading run-getter for South Africa with 141 runs from 5 matches (5 innings) including the best score of 109 against Bangladesh. Rossouw is not a part of this squad which could be a massive loss to South Africa. The South African bowling looks quite impressive. Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Coetzee, Marco Jansen, and Ottinel Baartman will be pace bowling options.
Keshav Maharaj, Shamsi, and Fortuin are three quality spin bowling options that can create doubts in the batter’s mind. Anrich Nortje finished as the leading wicket-taker with 11 wickets from 5 matches (5 innings) at an economy of 9.54 runs per over including best figures of 4 for 10.
Weakness
The South African team does not have quality all-rounders in their ranks. South Africa needs to feature five bowlers and six batters which makes the role of Marco Jansen at number 7 very important.
South Africa might struggle with the bat on slow pitches which could make life tough for the batters posting big totals. Kagiso Rabada has done well in the Indian Premier League 2024 which will be of help.
The other South African bowlers went for runs in the IPL. Nortje is coming to international cricket after a long gap. The depth in the batting department might haunt them as the likes of de Kock, Hendricks, Klassen, Miller, and Stubbs need to contribute most of the runs.
Opportunities
South Africa has a great chance to win a major ICC title. Their only ICC trophy came during the 1998 Champions Trophy.
With the strong batting lineup they pose, they might end their title drought. South Africa reached the semi-finals of the 50-over World Cup finishing 2nd in the Group stages.
Threats
The South African bowling unit comprises three left-arm spinners including Shamsi, Maharaj, and Fortuin. Aiden Markram is an ideal option for the left-handers in the opponent team.
South Africa needs to ensure that the spinners bowl in tandem. The pace bowling unit looks a little weak which could lead to their exit and dash their dream of winning the ICC title.
Squads:
Aiden Markram (c), Ottniel Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs
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