South Africa have been going through a golden phase at the moment. In the last couple of years, the men’s team played the T20 World Cup 2024 final and won the World Test Championship. On the other hand, the women’s team reached the finals of the T20 World Cups in 2023 and 2024, as well as the ODI World Cup this year. The Laura Wolvaardt-led side is not too far away from their crowning moment.
Legendary former cricketer Jonty Rhodes explained how the mindset has changed drastically in modern-day South Africa players with respect to their predecessors.
The former South African batter said that two decades ago, when he was still playing, the players used to let negative thoughts creep in when they toured India. He also applauded the quality of spinners in the Temba Bavuma-led side, which won the first Test against India on a rank turner at Eden Gardens last week.
“Twenty years ago, when I was still playing cricket, if we travelled to India, we’d arrive with our nerves already shot. We’d be wondering how much the ball would spin past the bat, feeling uncomfortable, and honestly not believing we could take 20 wickets,” Rhodes recalled in an interview with Sports Today.
“Now, that’s the key difference with this South African team. Sure, they struggle with the bat, scoring 150s or even less, but having 30 more runs on a turning surface in India shows the quality of our spin bowling and the shift in mindset,” he added.
Jonty Rhodes hails Temba Bavuma’s captaincy
Rhodes opined that the current crop of South African players have the belief that they can beat a strong side like India in their own backyard. He praised Temba Bavuma’s leadership skills and said that the South African team might not have too many superstars in their ranks, but know their roles and perform them accordingly.
“Arriving here believing you can compete with India — a great side at home — says a lot about Temba Bavuma’s captaincy. It’s a quiet captaincy. It’s not a team buzzing with superstars; they’re just guys who go out and do the job. And on difficult surfaces, it’s often those teams that pull together that come out victorious.”
India
