cricket

Updated: Sep 11, 2019 08:23 IST

The South African cricket team on Monday reached Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra airport ahead of the first T20I fixture against India which is set to take place in Dharamshala this week on Sunday. The Quinton de Kock-led side had set foot in India for the upcoming three-match T20 series on Saturday. After reaching India, the Proteas were scheduled to meet South Africa’s High Commissioner in New Delhi on Monday and before heading off to Dharamsala.

“Excited to be back in India and looking forward to playing cricket again,” pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada wrote in a tweet. South Africa will start the tour with the T20 matches, the first of which is in Dharamsala on September 15 followed by Mohali (September 18) and Bengaluru (September 22).

The T20I series will be followed by three-match Test series, which will be played in Visakhapatnam (Oct. 2-6), Pune (Oct. 10-14) and Ranchi (Oct 19-23) as the Proteas open their campaign in the ICC World Test Championship. The squad will be led by interim team director Enoch Nkwe, filling the role after the decision not to renew the contract of West Indian coach Ottis Gibson.

Great start to the tour of India last night with dinner with the High Commissioner of South Africa, His Excellency, Mr Sbu Ndebele and his wonderful staff & their families. It’s great to know our boys will have a few familiar faces to look out for on match days. #ProudlySA 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/iujr20WKNp — Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) September 9, 2019

South Africa’s pace spearhead Rabada feels the upcoming T20 and Test series against India is a chance for his embattled team to figure where it stands against the world’s best in a tough transition journey. The Proteas will be playing three T20s starting September 15 followed by three Tests against India. They arrived with a relatively young team in which Rabada and skipper Quinton De Kock are the two most experienced players.

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“I am really looking at the next couple of years. It’s a challenge for us, it’s a journey. The group has belief in its abilities and we need to see how we fare on this tour of India,” Rabada told PTI in an exclusive interview. “The goal is to compare ourselves with the best. India have been a successful team over the years. There’s been some changes and our team is now a lot younger. It’s a challenge for those who haven’t played here earlier,” acknowledged Rabada, who has already played over 100 international games across formats.

South Africa T20I Squad: Quinton de Kock (c), Rassie van der Dussen (vc), Temba Bavuma, Junior Dala, Bjorn Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, George Linde.

(With inputs from agencies)