Heinrich Klaasen of Hyderabad at sunrise (photo by pankaj nangia/getty images) South Africa begin their preparations for their next ICC Men’s T20 World Cup campaign with a warm-up clash with defending champions India on February 4 as the 2024 edition runners-up look to finally go one step further. Aiden Markram will once again lead the Proteas and captain the team for the second consecutive multi-national T20 tournament.As South Africa prepare for the challenge ahead, their team composition and prospects were analyzed on JioStar’s ‘The Experts’ View’ featuring former England captain Nasser Hussain, former Australian international Mel Jones and former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop. The discussion focused on the absence of Heinrich Klaasen while highlighting the growing depth and confidence in South African cricket.
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Bishop was particularly optimistic about the Proteas’ trajectory across formats and age groups, pointing to the consistency South Africa have shown at global events in recent years. Recalling the moment he shared with Markram after the dramatic 2024 final defeat in Barbados, Bishop said: “I’m taking everything into account, the women, the men and the under-19s will reach the semi-finals and finals. It’s something I mentioned to Aiden Markram at the presentation after the 2024 finals when I said his time will come as that moment but I don’t know when it will be, the World Cup but I don’t know if you look through their side, you will see what talent they have.’While Klaasen’s absence remains significant, Bishop stressed that South Africa are far from quality. He highlighted the continued presence of experienced names alongside rising stars capable of shaping the future of the game. “We’ve mentioned Klaasen and what’s missing, but Quinton de Kock is still available and there are players like Dewald Brevis who can, and probably will, take world cricket by storm. You’ve still got Aiden Markram and other experienced players. I don’t know exactly where it’s coming from, but I continue to be very excited about South African cricket, especially that Bishop Rabada remains involved in the whole format.Echoing these sentiments, Jones suggested that winning the ICC World Test Championship final in South Africa in 2025 had a profound impact on the wider cricket landscape in the country. “The happiness, the joy and the excitement of performing for your nation and then bottling all those feelings is significant. For those who didn’t play or weren’t part of winning the World Test Championship, I know they would be watching. Everyone in South Africa was watching,” she said, while warning to keep the focus firmly on the current tournament.“That presents a challenge for the coaching staff to make sure they don’t keep coming back to that because it’s a different tournament and you don’t want to alienate players,” Jones added.She also saw a visible change in South Africa’s presence on the field, which describes a renewed confidence and edge in the way they compete. “There’s a strong sense of what South Africa is as a nation and what cricket does for the country, and you can certainly feed off that, but you don’t want it to be the be-all and end-all. I watched them in Australia recently and they’re bragging about South African cricket at the moment, which is pretty cool.”Jones likened this growing authority to a dominant era of the past, while acknowledging that Klaasen’s absence has somewhat softened the challenge for opponents. “It reminded me of the West Indies back in the day when they turned up and you thought they were going to beat you but you still enjoyed watching them. They brought in different players, with bat and ball, and now they are a team that everyone looks over their shoulders at. The bowlers would have been relieved when Klaasen said you weren’t going to be involved, when you weren’t messing around in the meetings, when they suddenly looked at you. cooking,” she concluded.
