Proteas captain Aiden Markram does not believe playing T20 International world champions India at Kingsmead in Durban on Friday (5pm start) in the first home international match of the summer will bring up any bad memories of their defeat in the World Cup final earlier this year.
Markram became the first Proteas’ Men’s captain to lead a South African team to a World Cup final, but unfortunately could not guide his team to glory as India claimed a memorable victory at the Kensington Oval in Barbados in late June.
Although the personnel may not be the same due to India’s World Cup-winning trio Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, all retiring from international T20 cricket after attaining World Cup glory, there was a feeling that the Proteas may still be suffering from the after-effects of losing the final in such dramatic circumstances.
Markram, who took some time out of the game to mentally recharge after the final defeat, believes that’s all in the past and his team is only looking forward to the next challenge.
“It is the same countries, I guess, but the personnel has changed,” Markram said on Thursday. “We’ve played them (India) a lot throughout our careers. I wouldn’t say playing them again brings up any scars from the World Cup.
“Obviously, it brings up a lot of excitement to try and get one back at them – that’s your competitive nature.
“Hopefully we can start the summer by making our home fans proud. We want to put on a nice show for them and carry that through for the tours to come.”
A capacity Kingsmead crowd is expected to greet the two sides on Friday, although there has been concern about the weather, which could dampen the spirits.
“From a weather point of view, it is quite hard to predict. But I believe the forecast is looking a bit more promising, and hopefully it (rain) stays away and won’t affect the game in any way.
“If it does, you just have to go with the flow and try to find ways to win,” Markram said.
“It is an important series and you want to hit the ground running. “We don’t look at it as a full series; you take it game-by-game and to get off to a good start will certainly go a long way.”
Local Dolphins star Andile Simelane, who hails from KwaMashu, could be in line for a Proteas T20I debut this evening, and Markram has already leaned on the 21-year-old for advice on the conditions expected at Kingsmead.
“He’s got some knowledge on Kingsmead. He’s played quite a bit of cricket here, which is fantastic for him,” said Markram, who also captains Simelane at their SA20 franchise Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
“He’s been training well and sharing some information about work here, along with Keshav (Maharaj) and Imraan Khan (former Dolphins coach) – we’ve got them in the camp too.”
The Mercury