NEWS
Follow UsSouth Africa were handed a thrashing by India in the T20 International (T20I) series at home, having conceded 200 or more in three of their four matches. With the likes of Kagiso Rabada (rested), Lungi Ngidi (injured), Anrich Nortje, and Tabraiz Shamsi (both without national contract) unavailable due to various reasons, the bowling department was a tad weaker than usual.
Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee returned to action after a few months. Andile Simelane made his debut in the series. Nqaba and Peter Lutho Sipamla, too, lack vast experience. Amid all this, Keshav Maharaj was the most experienced bowler, but unfortunately, he did not find much support from the other end.
"To grow the net of players, there's times we have to play younger guys even in big series against good teams. And ultimately, that's where they're going to learn the most," South Africa head coach Rob Walter said after his side's 135-run defeat in the third T20I in Johannesburg.
"It's really a balancing act, and there's no right or wrong. We're trying to get it right, we're trying to get rest right, we're trying to get rotation right, we're trying to get exposure right all at the same time. But it doesn't excuse the performance. We still need to be better and that starts with me as the head coach of the team."
Walter was also quick to praise the Indian team, who, despite not having their best players, managed to outplay the hosts for the majority of the series. In fact, only four members of the T20 World Cup 2024 winning side were on the South Africa tour, further going on to show the depth India have in their arsenal.
"Their fringe players are stepping up and creating pressure on the guys that are in main XI," he said.
"Ultimately, if you look at the stats around the number of players used by the different international sides, they all sit in the same space over the last two years, in between 30 and 36 players roughly. Everyone's attempting to do the same thing because the cricket landscape is actually the same for everyone."
On premier bowlers like Nortje and Shamsi not signing national contracts, Walter sympathises with them, saying that franchise cricket is where all the money is.
"A guy like Anrich, I certainly wouldn't doubt his want to play for South Africa and his commitment to do that. But he made a decision personally around contracting so that he could move away from playing Test cricket for a while. I think physically he was finding it a bit tough to do everything and I respect that," Walter said.
"At the end of the day, when it comes to the world tournaments, we want to pick our best side. And if he is one of those best players, we consider him. Shammo has done exactly the same thing. We need to be cognisant of what's happening in world cricket. It's not easy and the national side is competing with franchise cricket. The money lies in franchise cricket, not international cricket. That's the reality that we live in."
"And so, again, the balancing act continues."
Under Walter, South Africa have played seven T20I bilateral series and have not tasted victory even in one. On the other hand, Walter's Proteas side, are the first team to make it to a World Cup final. Regardless, South Africa under Aiden Markram will hope for a swift turnaround.
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