South Africa Twenty20 captain Francois du Plessis yesterday said they are well aware of their upcoming challenge as the Proteas prepare to face the high-flying Tigers at their own den in two T20 internationals, three ODIs and two Test matches.
The Proteas will play their first competitive fixture in more than three months ever since their heart-breaking semi-final defeat to New Zealand in the 2015 ICC World Cup down under.
“It’s incredible that Bangladesh is playing good cricket. It’s good for world cricket. They are no longer a minnow team anyway. They are beating big nations. It’s great to see them beat India. It’s a nice opportunity for a smaller team to show what they are all about,” the 30-year old batsman told the media at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium before their first practice session.
“And, it also makes us come here and respect their capabilities as a team. They have played really well. But we wouldn’t want it any other way. We have got a strong squad. We are going to play the best players to try and beat Bangladesh,” said the Pretoria-born Du Plessis.
Du Plessis praised the Bangladesh fast bowlers for their impressive display against India but stated that spin will always play a vital role in the sub-continent.
“When you play against sub-continent teams, you expect the spinners to turn up and I suppose India would have thought that as well. So that was the surprise of the series. Whether they will do the same against us, I am not sure. I assume that because they did pretty well, you don’t think they are going to change too much but there will probably be a bit more spin options,” he said.
The Proteas T20 skipper added that they have had the opportunity to look at left-arm pace-bowling sensation Mustafizur Rahman, currently a hot topic in world cricket following his heroics against India. Du Plessis expressed hope that their batters would not commit the same mistakes as the Indian batsmen.
“I have had a look at him while watching the game. We haven’t had a closer look at him though. We haven’t sat down on him. But I did see that he did really well. India didn’t play too well against him. We can make changes,” he said.
Du Plessis also said weather is likely to play a major role in the series so they would be looking to adapt to the hot and humid conditions.
South Africa head coach Russel Domingo on the other hand said they would draw inspiration from their recent sub-continent successes when they face the formidable hosts.
“I think South Africa’s record in the sub-continent has been good in the recent past. We won against Sri Lanka. We won a series against India recently. The sub-continent seems to bring out the best out of South Africa. The guys really connect well as a team. Our team culture is very strong. We enjoy coming to the sub-continent,” he said.