The captain of the South Africa cricket team, Temba Bavuma, hinted at the possible use of spin attack in the 37th match of the ICC World Cup 2023 against India at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on November 5.
Bavuma, 33, confirmed that the Proteas are strongly considering the possibility of playing two frontline spinners — Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi — just like they played against Pakistan on the spinning conditions of Chennai.
“If the wicket assists the spinners, you'll definitely see those two,” Bavuma said.
The Proteas are playing as a complete team in the mega event, as they have in the past, but they are still the holders of the "chokers" tag as they have, despite a great start many times, failed to win the World Cup many times.
The 33-year-old also addressed the unexpected question that a local journalist asked: “Have you talked about how not to choke in this important match?”
“To choke? I don't know how to answer that. I think if we come unstuck tomorrow, I don't think it'll be a matter of choking. I doubt you would say that about India as well if they come unstuck if they would choke," he said.
“We'll deal with them as best as we can. But yeah, I haven't heard that word [chokers] come up as of yet in the training.”
“You’ve got two teams who are in-form, coming up against each other and I think it's just a matter of who breaks first and who is able to exploit that moment or that weakness,” said Bavuma.
“We understand that there will be pressure moments within the World Cup, some of those we've been able to overcome to get to this point, and there will still be more.
“I think we still want to stay a lot more drawn to each other as a team, regulate our emotions as much as we can and make sure we're in the best space possible to play our best cricket.”
It is worth mentioning that India has already qualified for the semi-final of the mega event and the Proteas, with 12 points, can also join the hosts with a win in Kolkata on Sunday.