Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith expressed hope that his nation would win the T20 World Cup, but he was cautious about India’s strength and skill sets at home, which he said would guarantee the Indian squad a spot in the semifinals.
Smith conceded that the Suryakumar Yadav-led team is a different animal in white ball cricket, notwithstanding South Africa’s recent 2-0 Test series victory against India in their own country.
“With India’s talent, you can never write them off. It’s a home World Cup. It does seem to be an interesting transition phase in Indian cricket between (head coach) Gautam (Gambhir) and senior players and, you know, how that transition happens,” Smith, the SA20 League Commissioner, told a select media gathering on Friday.
“But certainly from a talent perspective, India, if they’re not in the last four at least, I’ll be very surprised,” he added.
Smith anticipated a South African victory in the ICC showpiece, even if he recognized India’s advantages in familiar conditions.
“Obviously, I’d like us to beat India in the final. But yeah, that (Test series win) was brilliant. We know it’s a tough place to go on tour. I was really surprised by how dominant we were in the Test series. The Test side over the last year, year and a half, has really been the beacon of light, from a national team perspective.”
“(SA captain) Temba (Bavuma), (head coach) Shukri (Conrad) have done wonders. Hopefully, it continues. If Shukri and the team can get their combinations right, I think there’s a real opportunity that the team can do very well.”
Smith was also optimistic about the SA players’ capacity to deal with spin in the T20 World Cup.
“I think there’s enough quality and ability to play spin there as well in that middle-order, particularly in India. So, let’s hope, you know, that there will be a good World Cup around the corner,” he said.
Smith expressed the expectation that the SA20 would provide South African players and coaches with valuable time to prepare for the T20 World Cup, which will begin on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka.
“When you go into a World Cup, you always want to come off the back of playing really competitive cricket. So, it’s (SA20), a great platform for our players to take that type of pressure, full houses, first-class production, playing against the best players locally and internationally.”
“That is key from a preparation perspective. The one thing that we will not have is the combinations. Shukri and Aiden…what are their combinations they want to take into India? How they’re going to shape up, who’s going to bat where? We can’t predict that, but I think the platform for players to prepare here is brilliant,” Smith added.
