Cape Town – Dwaine Pretorius says that the Proteas are hitting the reset button and are putting their failure at Cricket World Cup behind them.
The Proteas were about as disappointing as they could possibly get, with just three wins from nine to sit 7th on the standings at the prestigious tournament.
From the results and poor form to injuries and on and off-field drama involving AB de Villiers’ availability before the squad was announced, everything seemed to go wrong for South Africa.
However, two months later, the Proteas are under new management with interim team director Enoch Nkwe and his new staff contingent in control.
All-rounder Pretorius believes that this is a new chapter for Proteas and that they’re ready to fight hard during their first tour since the World Cup.
“Everyone is ready to hit that reset button and start building towards the future,” said Pretorius.
“When I saw the guys fresh from their break, I could see the hunger and energy.
“The guys are ready to put the hurt of the World Cup behind us, obviously we were all very disappointed but it’s time to move on and time to build to the next one, which is the T20 World Cup.
“I think everyone sees this as a new step and a new chapter and I’m sure we’re going to push hard… We always up for a fight.”
The Proteas tour India and play the first of three T20Is on Sunday, September 15 in Dharamsala (15:30 SA time).
Proteas Test match squad v India:
Faf du Plessis (Titans, captain), Temba Bavuma (Highveld Lions, vice-capt), Theunis de Bruyn (Titans), Quinton de Kock (Titans), Dean Elgar (Titans), Zubayr Hamza (Cape Cobras), Keshav Maharaj (Dolphins), Aiden Markram (Titans), Senuran Muthusamy (Dolphins), Lungi Ngidi (Titans), Anrich Nortje (Warriors), Vernon Philander (Cape Cobras), Dane Piedt (Cape Cobras), Kagiso Rabada (Highveld Lions), Rudi Second (Knights)
Proteas T20I squad v India:
Quinton de Kock (Titans, captain), Rassie van der Dussen (Highveld Lions, vice-capt), Temba Bavuma (Highveld Lions), Junior Dala (Titans), Bjorn Fortuin (Highveld Lions), Beuran Hendricks (Highveld Lions), Reeza Hendricks (Highveld Lions), David Miller (Dolphins), Anrich Nortje (Warriors), Andile Phehlukwayo (Dolphins), Dwaine Pretorius (Highveld Lions), Kagiso Rabada (Highveld Lions), Tabraiz Shamsi (Titans), George Linde (Cape Cobras)
Proteas tour to India itinerary:
Sunday, September 15 – 1st T20I at Dharamsala – 15:30 SA time
Wednesday, September 18 – 2nd T20I at Mohali – 15:30 SA time
Sunday, September 22 – 3rd T20I at Bengaluru – 15:30 SA time
Wednesday, October 2 – 1st Test at Visakhapatnam – 06:00 SA time
Thursday, October 10 – 2nd Test at Dharamsala – 06:00 SA time
Saturday, October 19 – 3rd Test at Ranchi – 06:00 SA time