The Proteas’ lead-in to the T20 World Cup has given them little to no chance of pulling off an unlikely trophy win.
While they are far from the only team to be heading into the tournament with little international cricket in the T20 format behind themselves, they are a team that really needs more time together to pose a threat to the top sides.
The Proteas don’t have the toughest group but that section does have a couple of teams in it that they cannot afford to underestimate.
Only two teams will progress from the five-team group and go into the Super Eights phase of the competition.
The superstitious among the Proteas fans will also note that they have been drawn against teams who have caused them previous World Cup heartache.
One of those is the Netherlands, who beat South Africa at the last T20 World Cup in a match that the Proteas knew they had to win.
The Proteas failed to turn up in that match and although the squad has seen some changes, a lack of proper preparation for the Proteas could act as an equaliser.
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka pose the bigger threat to the Proteas progression and have both played T20Is more recently than the men in Green and Gold.
If South Africa avoids upsets and progress from their group they will face the tough Super Eights section if they hope to make it to the final four.
The Proteas should top their group and go into Group 2 of the Super Eights.
That group might very well contain Pakistan, Australia and the West Indies if the first-round groups go as expected.
Three very tough matches will await the Proteas and the underdone team simply won’t be ready to lift themselves to get through this stage of the competition.
The Proteas will have a tough path to matching their best performance at a T20 World Cup.
South Africa will likely have to win five T20Is in a row to claim the World Cup and that will be something this team struggles to achieve.
The Proteas have favoured an out-of-sorts Anrich Nortje for the World Cup squad while in-form Nandre Burger has been placed on standby to act as a reserve player.
Quinton de Kock has also been picked despite struggling to make an impact in the IPL.
The Proteas’ hopes of causing a huge upset and winning the T20 World Cup seem to hinge on someone like Heinrich Klaasen playing above themselves and the team pulling together like they have not been able to do in international cricket for some time.
South Africa just aren’t a great bet for a T20 World Cup triumph given their poor preparation for the event and history of struggles in knockout cricket.
