South African Coach Conrad Finds Positives Despite Series Defeat Against India

Despite their defeat against India in the T20Is, South Africa is pleased with the lessons learned from the series. The Proteas acknowledged that there are many areas where they can improve, as their main focus is to win the upcoming 2026 T20 World Cup.

South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad said that their overall tour of India has been great, as they learned a lot of new things. He specifically mentioned the conditions, saying that the Proteas tried to adapt to the surfaces, as they will encounter similar tracks in next year’s mega event in India.

"It's been a wonderful tour. You learn a lot about yourself and the game and conditions. This last bit has been wonderful for us in terms of conditions that we're going to experience in a few months' time when we come here for the World Cup.” said South Africa head coach, Shukri Conrad.

The coach further said that he is happy with the way South Africa fought back in the series. He acknowledged that India are the current T20 World Cup champions, so playing against them is always a big challenge.

“I'm really happy with the outcomes. Obviously, you want to win every series you play, but India are the world champions in this format for a reason and we've got to make sure that we come back in a few months' time and try and topple them." said Shukri Conrad.

Speaking about the combination of batters at the top, Shukri Conrad said that the management have locked in two names, and the search for the third is still underway. According to him, Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram are the two confirmed players, with the number three position still open.

"At the top of the order, whether it's opening or No. 3, I think we've got two in Quinton [de Kock] and Aiden and we're probably looking at another batter at the top of the order," said Shukri Conrad.

He then addressed a question about the middle order, saying that the team already has a set lineup of players for that department.

"We've ticked quite a few boxes in terms of our middle order and middle to lower order," said Shukri Conrad.

The coach then explained the missing links in their bowling. He said South Africa played the T20 series without the services of Kagiso Rabada, who is a main bowler of their attack. He hopes all the players will get a decent match time before the T20 World Cup, as that will help them to prepare for the event effectively.

"By and large, we were missing someone like Kagiso, who's massive for us in the bowling department. We can execute better with the ball when we're under pressure and I think the guys just need a few matches under their belt," said Shukri Conrad.

Need to Showcase Patience with Anrich Nortje

Addressing the question about Anrich Nortje, Shukri Conrad said that since he has returned to international cricket after a long break, the team needs to be careful about his workload and performance assessment. He is optimistic that Nortje will return to his best by getting more game time before the T20 World Cup.

"Anrich Nortje hasn't played cricket in a very long time. And we obviously know that playing international cricket at the intensity that it's meant to be played is really tough. We've ticked all of those boxes in terms of getting them through a series where it gives us a really good idea of who's coming to this World Cup." said Shukri Conrad.

He further praised Anrich Nortje’s skills, saying that he is a special player who knows how to win games for his country. The coach then said that the upcoming SA20 league will provide a good opportunity for all players to play high-quality cricket and prepare themselves for the T20 World Cup.

"Guys like Anrich knew exactly how many games he was going to play coming here. We've got to bring them along slowly. There's no point in rushing guys only for them to get re-injured again. I'm happy with how we've managed that. And certainly they're going to get a lot of match preparedness during the SA20." concluded Shukri Conrad.