West Indian Sunil Narine: As they get ready for their opening match in the SA20, MI Cape Town captain Rashid Khan is banking on the experienced players in his squad to adapt to the conditions as they hope to continue their overall performance in this edition of the competition.
Rashid Khan is hoping to extend his team’s proud Newlands record in their opening SA20 Season 4 match against Durban’s Super Giants (DSG) on Friday. The defending champions are unbeaten across five matches at home in Season 3, transforming Newlands into a fortress and their campaign into a title-winning success.
The home side is packed with a host of superstars such as Proteas Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Corbin Bosch, along with internationals Rashid Khan, Trent Boult, and new arrival Nicholas Pooran, ready to entertain the MI Cape Town faithful.
Captain Rashid Khan feels his team is ready to express themselves after claiming the title last season.
“There was more pressure last year than this year, you know, we came at the bottom twice in a row and to come up from that and win the trophy was a big thing for us as a team,” Rashid Khan said.
“I think what we did right was we played collectively as a team, and we took the responsibility at certain points of the game. Every player is well experienced, and they will adjust themselves to the condition and the position of the team quite quickly. Everyone is so professional, they have played so much cricket around the world, and I think it won't be that difficult for them to acclimatise.”
MI Cape Town are eager to start the new campaign on a similar footing, with Rashid Khan expecting Pooran to hit the ground running for his new team.
“He (Pooran) is going to bring lots of energy to the game,” he said. “We know how dangerous and how good a cricketer he is. He is the kind of person who comes in smashing lots of sixes, you will see. He’s a guy full of energy and entertainment, and I am sure he is going to love his time here.”
Durban’s Super Giants have revamped their squad and are quite capable of being the Grinch of Christmas past by spoiling MI Cape Town’s homecoming.
New captain Aiden Markram, who has won the competition twice previously with Sunrisers Eastern Cape, brings a wealth of experience and a winning mentality to Lance Klusener’s team.
The Super Giants have an equal array of sparkling dust sprinkled through their star-studded squad, with Markram joined by England’s former T20 World Cup-winning captain Jos Buttler.
The batting department boasts further experience in New Zealand legend Kane Williamson and former Proteas white-ball basher Heinrich Klaasen.
West Indian Sunil Narine is unfortunately not available as yet, but the Super Giants have recruited Proteas Test hero Simon Harmer to further bolster a spinning contingent that already boasts Afghanistan mystery bowler Noor Ahmad.
The batting department boasts further experience in New Zealand legend Kane Williamson and former Proteas white-ball basher Heinrich Klaasen.
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"I think a lot of it comes down to finding our strength as a team and our identity and what gives us the best chance to play good cricket and win games of cricket, so it's obviously a new and exciting challenge for us in a competition with a lot of new faces."