Picture Credit: X

Picture Credit: X

Speaking at the Official Captains' Press Conference ahead of Betway SA20 Season 3 starting today, 9th January, franchise captains Pearl Royals captain David Miller, Sunrisers Eastern Cape captain Aiden Markram, Joburg Super Kings captain Faf du Plessis, and Durban Super Giants captain Keshav Maharaj shared their thoughts on the commencement of Season 3 during the press conference.  

Pearl Royals captain David Miller on his team said, "I think this year we've got quite a few new faces, some exciting young players that have come through. We've got some seriously good talent there, so excited to have them. A new coach as well, Trevor Penny, someone that has four passports—Australia, England, Canada, and Zimbabwe—so he's well-experienced and travelled. He's been around the world for many years coaching and playing, so good to have him in the set-up as well. And then, obviously, Dinesh Karthik is there. It's nice to have his experience as a senior player. Joe Root, which is really exciting for me to kind of tap into those experienced players. But just on a whole, the guys are training really well. I think we've got a golf day later this afternoon, so that's going to go down well. But yeah, warm-up game yesterday, the day before I think it was, and then tomorrow as well, so the prep is going well."

  Sunrisers Eastern Cape captain Aiden Markram on transitioning from Test matches to SA20, "I think because it's such different formats, obviously the energy around the Test summer was great for us, but then going into SA20, I think the energy will be absolutely fine. It's obviously a really exciting competition to be a part of and completely different to what the Test summer was like. "So, it feels like a breath of fresh air now starting something—not that new, but it's completely different. We've been busy, but it's still very fun to get the season going."  

Joburg Super Kings captain Faf du Plessis on playing T20 cricket and league competitions asserted, "For me, it's very easy at the moment. Understanding that throughout the season, you need to play enough cricket to make sure that you're still at that level where you're playing a lot of cricket. When you compare it to the international circuit, you're playing cricket all the time. So, I think it's a challenge when you move away from international cricket to circuit life, as we call it. For me, it's just creating that balance. There are some guys that usually have that urge to feel like you want to play in all the competitions around the world, because obviously, there is a financial benefit to that. But for me, it's not the case. I think it's just about making sure you have those breaks where you feel you can get away from the game, you can get mentally fresh, because every tournament then becomes something that's a big drive. So, yeah, I look at the season, and I go, how can I, over a 12-month period, play enough cricket to maintain that level in the middle of each game, and also that freshness where it's certainly at the age that I am now, you don't feel like you're losing that hunger to play the game. So, for me, it's pretty easy at the moment. I've worked it out pretty well."  

Durban Super Giants captain Keshav Maharaj on his team, "It's been really good. Obviously, the weather hasn't helped in Durban, but we still have the facility to try and make the most of what we can. But really exciting for me personally to learn from someone like Kane Williamson. He's been around the world; he's done really well as a leader, so it's good to basically dive into his knowledge and gain some insights on how he looks at the philosophy of leading sides. It will be good for me. I'm excited to see the youngsters that are coming into our line-up. I'm really excited—just looking to get the energy back into the Super Giants dressing room."

(With Inputs from Press Release)