ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024: South Africa promise to keep the unkept promise

South Africa will begin their campaign in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 against the 2014 T20 world champions Sri Lanka at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on June 3 (Monday). The match will be the first of four matches that they will play in Group D during the league stage.

While their white-ball head coach Rob Walter has picked the best possible squad for the T20I spectacle, it remains to be seen whether South Africa have the ammunition needed to go all the way and break their World Cup hoodoo. On that note, let's analyse their squad ahead of the tournament.

Strengths

Native to foreign conditions

While most of the teams participating in the marquee ICC tournament are brainstorming to figure out the playing conditions in the United States and the Caribbean, South Africa's dressing room is devoid of such talks. Numerous members of South Africa's T20 World Cup squad have a fair amount of experience playing in the Caribbean as well as in the United States.

Quinton de Kock (Barbados Royals, Seattle Orcas), David Miller (Jamaica Tallawahs, Barbados Royals, Texas Super Kings), Tristan Stubbs (St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots, MI New York), Heinrich Klaasen (Guyana Amazon Warriors and Seattle Orcas), Kagiso Rabada (MI New York), Tabraiz Shamsi (Guyana Amazon Warriors) are some of the notable names with plenty of experience of playing in Major League Cricket (USA) and in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

Herculean batting order

Power drips out of South Africa's herculean batting order. With names like Heinrich Klaasen, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Reeza Hendricks among others in the ranks, South Africa are any bowling attack's worst nightmare.
Though Klaasen is yet to play a T20I this year, he has been taming bowlers for fun in the T20 circuit. Playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2023, the star South African batter aggregated 448 runs at an eye-catching strike rate of 177.07, including two fifties and a century and finished as their leading run-getter.

While people thought they had seen the best of him at the IPL, Klassen sprung a surprise and produced another jaw-dropping performance in the 17th season of the cash-rich league. The right-hander amassed 479 runs at a strike rate of 171.07 and was one of the key players that propelled SRH to a final finish.

Similarly, Stubbs, 23, also enjoyed a blazing run during IPL 2024. Representing Delhi Capitals, Stubbs accumulated 378 runs at a stunning strike rate of 190.90 and was the only overseas player who remained consistent while the others engaged in musical chairs.

Only two other players who scored over 350 runs in IPL 2024 had a better strike rate than Stubbs - Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma.

While Klaasen and Stubbs have become household names because of their IPL stint, Reeza Hendricks still doesn't have the same fan following despite his international impact. Though Hendricks does not come across as someone who can biff the ball many a mile, his looks can often deceive the most engaged onlookers.

The 34-year-old racked up 330 runs for the Proteas in T20Is in 2023 at a strike rate of 160.19 and finished the year as their leading run-getter.

Weaknesses

Captain battling for form

Aiden Markram had a middling SA20 2024 season with the bat. In 11 games for Sunrisers Eastern Cape, Markram scored 261 runs at a strike rate of 138.09. Though he didn't have the season he wished for as a batter, he helped his franchise defend the title after an 89-run win over Durban's Super Giants.

Chuffed by the achievement, Markram prepared to lead Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024 but was removed from captaincy after the franchise opted to hand over the reins to Pat Cummins. The decision might have had its bearing on his mental space as Markram stuck out as a sore thumb in SRH's red-hot batting line-up because of his underwhelming strike rate (124.29). 

His poor returns with the willow in hand even forced SRH to bench him this season. Overall, Markram will have a stern task at hand of keeping the side motivated in the marquee tournament.

Bowling attack under fire

Once known for their lethal pace bowlers who dictated terms to batters around the world, South Africa's seamers seem to be losing their spell over batters. Anrich Nortje had an IPL to forget with Delhi Capitals this time around after he just managed seven poles in six games. The most distressing sight for a South African supporter was the alarming economy rate (13.36) at which he conceded runs in the 17th edition.

His compatriot Kagiso Rabada also looked ordinary in the IPL. Playing for Punjab Kings (PBKS) Rabada bagged just 11 wickets in 11 fixtures at leaked runs at an economy of 8.85 per over. Gerald Coetzee too went for 10.17 runs an over in the season for Mumbai Indians.

Therefore, South Africa's deflated seamers need to hit their stride as soon as the World Cup gets underway.

Opportunities

This World Cup is yet another priceless opportunity for the Proteas to add a major ICC trophy to their largely empty cabinet. An ICC silverware will surely create new fans of the sport in the Rainbow Nation and will also bring back the old ones that have moved on and found solace in rugby.

On the other hand, the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA is a chance for Markram to mute those detractors who justified SRH's decision to axe him as captain. Having already done the same in T20 cricket with two SA20 titles to his credit, Markram needs to go a few notches higher.

If South Africa manage to win the tournament then it will prevent Quinton de Kock from entering the long and undesired list of South African legends who retired from the game without a World Cup winner's medal.

Threats

The biggest threat to South Africa's T20 World Cup campaign is their inability to bury the demons of the past. The Proteas are carrying an immeasurable baggage of disappointment that keeps adding on at the end of every ICC tournament. 
Several star players in South Africa's T20 World Cup squad have been a part of an unsuccessful World Cup campaign or two and therefore it would require a herculean effort from them to rewrite history and break free from the infamous tag.