The hot topic going into Sunday’s fixture between South Africa and Zimbabwe is whether or not Proteas coach Shukri Conrad will rest key players and rotate the squad.
Image: AFP
Former Proteas fast bowler Monde Zondeki, having been coached by Shukri Conrad at Western Province during the early days of his playing career, reckons that the Proteas will go full throttle against Zimbabwe in Delhi on Sunday.
The hot topic going into Sunday’s fixture between South Africa and Zimbabwe is whether or not Proteas coach Shukri Conrad will rest key players and rotate the squad.
After all, South Africa has secured a spot in the semi-final stage of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, as they have won all six of their World Cup fixtures thus far.
Perhaps most impressively was how they made light work of defending champions India, thrashing them by a whopping 76 runs, and going on to inflict a damaging nine-wicket victory on West Indies a few days later.
As things stand, despite going into the World Cup under the radar, South Africa find themselves as clear favourites, as they have been dominant in most of their matches in the showpiece event.
It also carries the weight that they were runners-up in the previous edition of the tournament, where they lost the final to India.
Considering all of the above, many believe that Conrad could field a different team against Zimbabwe on Sunday and rest his big guns.
However, some believe that such a move would be too risky, as it could hinder the momentum of the team going into such a crucial stage of the tournament, the semi-finals.
Former Proteas fast bowler Monde Zondeki believes that Conrad will not make a lot of changes on Sunday.
“I actually thought about this quite a bit because the last (dead rubber) game we played, the UAE (Conrad made a number of changes). There are questions about whether you want to carry on the momentum that you have. Do you want to change the side and perhaps alter that?,” Zondeki posed questions.
“I think knowing Shukri, because he did coach me when I first got to Western Province, I don't think it's going to change much, to be honest. I think he's going to want to carry on with the momentum they do have.
“I don't think you want to have any hiccups going into the semi-finals because we've already qualified, maybe one or two.”
The conditions in Delhi are expected to be very different to the ones South Africa has grown accustomed to in Ahmedabad, where they have played five of their six fixtures thus far.
Zondeki says the Proteas can expect slower conditions in Delhi, a feat that would require adjustments since they have come from the quick track in Ahmedabad.
“It is going to be different in Delhi than it is where they've been playing for the last couple of games. It's a little quicker where they've been playing in Ahmedabad, but in Delhi it's going to be a little slower, a little harder, but maybe you might be getting another spinner,” Zondeki said.
“But I don't think you're going to see too many changes at all, to be honest. I think the quicker the wicket is, the better it is for South Africa, given our strength is our fast bowlers in this tournament; the slower the wicket is, the more Zimbabwe comes into it.”
The fixture between South Africa and Zimbabwe is scheduled to stay at 11:30 am SAST on Sunday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Ahmedabad.