At St. George’s Park in Gqeberha, the SA20’s third season will kick off with an entertaining matchup between MI Cape Town and the reigning champion Sunrisers Eastern Cape. Durban’s Super Giants finished second among the six teams that competed last year, and they added Kane Williamson to their lineup. The chance to learn from the New Zealand veteran and the impending season have both excited skipper Keshav Maharaj.
Having led New Zealand to the 2021 T20 World Cup final, the Kiwi batter has a plethora of captaincy experience in addition to his T20 average of 31.57 and strike rate of 122.58. His capacity to steady the innings and adjust to different circumstances will give Durban’s batting lineup more depth. Williamson’s presence is a major factor in Maharaj, the captain of Durban, being upbeat about his team’s chances.
Prior to the competition, the spinner commended Kane Williamson ability to lead.
It has been excellent. It goes without saying that Durban’s weather hasn’t been ideal, but we still have the facility to try and maximise what we can. However, I find it extremely fascinating to learn from someone like Kane Williamson. He’s been all around the world and has done a great job as a leader, so it’s wonderful to essentially learn from him and get some insight into how he views leadership philosophy. It will be beneficial to me. I’m looking forward to seeing the young people joining our lineup. During the press conference before the tournament, Maharaj stated, “I’m really excited—just looking to get the energy back into the Super Giants dressing room.”
Excellent competition to participate in: Mark Ram, Aiden Markram
As for the transition from playing in red-ball to competitions like SA20, Sunrisers Eastern Cape captain Aiden Markram, who has since developed into a superb Test batsman, discussed it.
“I believe the enthusiasm was fantastic for us over the Test summer, but coming into SA20, I think the energy will be just fine since it’s in such different forms. In contrast to the Test summer, this tournament is undoubtedly incredibly thrilling to participate in. Thus, beginning something that isn’t particularly novel but is entirely different feels new. Even though we’ve had a lot going on, starting the season is still a lot of fun,” Markram remarked.
India
