Prior to the T20 World Cup, South Africa pace spearhead Anrich Nortje downplayed the Proteas’ injury worries, claiming the team has the depth and caliber to withstand the setbacks.
Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs were substituted for the injured Tony de Zorzi and Donovan Ferreira in South Africa’s 15-man T20 World Cup squad.
The South Africa speedster supported the depth of the Proteas’ T20 World Cup lineup while noting the “sad and unfortunate” impact of injuries on the team, saying that the replacement players are completely capable and currently playing at their best.
Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi and flamboyant batters David Miller and Dewald Brevis are also dealing with injuries.
“Obviously, it’s sad to lose and it’s unfortunate. I’ve been on that side as well with a few World Cups and ICC events. But I think all in all, the guys that are replacing have put their hand up. They’ve done really well,” PTI quoted Nortje as saying in Johannesburg, on Friday.
“They’ve either played in previous World Cups or been in the squad and they’ve put their hand up in the SA20 as well. So the replacements, it’s not like it’s guys who haven’t played or guys who aren’t performing. It’s really proper players as well,” he said.
“So it is unfortunate, but luckily we’re in a fortunate position where we can replace them with good quality players. And that’s exactly what’s happened,” the South African seamer said.
Although he agreed that the schedule has been extremely busy in recent months, he believed that the workload has made sure that every player has had adequate match practice before the T20 World Cup.
“The way the tournament has been and the amount of cricket played, the schedule has been quite hectic. There hasn’t been a lot of time available. You have to travel on your off days. I think the boys have played a lot of cricket now, which is great for us. I don’t think anyone has gotten less cricket,” the 32-year-old fast bowler said.
“Maybe one or two guys coming in, but everyone’s been playing a lot of cricket. That’s brilliant for us going into the World Cup.”
Nortje acknowledged that a T20I series right before the World Cup would have been a perfect way to be ready for the big tournament.
“Obviously, you probably would have wanted to play together as a team for a bit more. But I think all in all, everyone is looking really good. Everyone’s got good confidence and played well. It’s probably as close as ideal as it can be,” Nortje said.
