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South Africa's white-ball captain Temba Bavuma conceded that while they might not be the most dangerous side, he believes the Proteas can punch above their weight in the upcoming T20 World Cup. Bavuma stated that their confidence is still sky-high as they chase their maiden T20 title.
While South Africa registered a T20I series win in England, they suffered a setback in India, losing both the T20I and ODI series ahead of the T20 World Cup. The third and final ODI in Delhi ended with the tourists getting bowled out for a mere 99, losing the contest by seven wickets.
Bavuma expects South Africa to fly under the radar, but warned that the Proteas will do everything they can to enjoy the journey and lift the T20 World Cup trophy.
Bavuma was quoted as saying by News18
"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. Probably not a lot of expectations 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."
The South African skipper's form is a significant concern ahead of the T20 World Cup. He has reached double figures only twice in his last seven T20I innings.
The T20I series against India saw the right-handed batter register two ducks in three innings.
"I think the guys are in good spirits" - Temba Bavuma
Despite admitting South Africa's struggles, Bavuma feels the players are in a good space, saying:
"To be honest, I think the guys are in good spirits. We’ve obviously just come from India where we didn’t have the best of series, but I think 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 also backed Dwaine Pretorious' replacement Marco Jansen to make an impact as his left-arm angle brings variety to South Africa's pace attack. The skipper explained:
"Yeah, Marco is obviously a big addition for us. He obviously comes in with an 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, as well."
South Africa will play two warm-up games against New Zealand and Bangladesh on October 17 and 19, respectively, before starting their T20 World Cup campaign on October 24.
