South Africa, who has consistently struggled to win an ICC event over the years will have a chance to reverse that in the ongoing ODI World Cup in India. The Proteas are facing Sri Lanka in the opening encounter of the marquee event on Saturday in Arun Jaitley Stadium.
South Africa has faced difficulties throughout the years, such as bad weather and the episodes of tough loss particularly in crunch games of the mega event which led to their dismissal performance in big events. Due to this, South Africa has been able to go to the semifinals in four of its eight World Cup appearances, but the coveted championship spot has eluded them each time in the ICC events.
Speaking on South Africa’s performance in the ODI World Cup 2023, Temba Bavuma feels that there are certain tags about them outside the team and said that they have confidence in their abilities to perform well in major competitions and are eager to take on the challenges that lie ahead at the ongoing World Cup.
“I have used that a couple of times. But you don’t really hear coming from the team. I think there are guys who believe that it applies to this team, and there are guys who don’t believe that it applies to this team.
“The belief that happens among the players is important. I bring it up to just make sure that we are not kind of squirting around the issue. If there is some issue, you will have to deal with it and mentally make sure how you are gonna deal with it,” Bavuma said.
“But again, it is just that acceptance that it will always be within the team, within the group, the guys who will have to come don’t experience that. This is something that will just exist as long as we do what we need to do,” Temba Bavuma added.
South Africa will make a valiant effort to shed its unwelcome reputation as a “chokers” for its inability to get past the knockout stages in ICC competitions. They have a history of losing their nerve and composure in stressful situations. They will, however, be making an effort to do better this year and will be hoping to cross the line in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Heinrich Klaasen Has Been A Part Of Our Group For A Number Of Years – Temba Bavuma
Temba Bavuma believes that the hard-hitting batter Heinrich Klaasen has been a crucial player for the team in the white-ball format of the game and feels that the contribution at the top of the order by Quinton de Kock, Rassie Van der Dussen, and himself has helped the middle order batters to play their best in the ODI cricket.
“Klaasen is walking down on water the way he is batting. He is a big player for us. He has been a part of our group for a number of years and he has truly shown why there has been so much faith in backing his ability,” Bavuma further added.
“He comes in and marshals that middle-order of our batting and I guess his success is largely due to the platform that he gets from the guys who come in at the top of the order whether be Quinton (de Kock), myself or Rassie (Van der Dussen) in the top three.
“I think it’s important that those guys do their job so that guys like Klassen, David (Miller), Aiden (Markram) can go out and do what we expect them to do,” Temba Bavuma further maintained.
South Africa has one of the best batting line-ups in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 in India. They have got the likes of Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma, Rassie Van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, and David Miller forming their top six in the batting and can be destructive against any quality opponents in the tournament.
