Africa-Press – South-Africa. Proteas batter Janneman Malan says he’ll give his all in the upcoming three-match ODI series against India.
Malan was not part of South Africa’s T20 side that was defeated 2-1 in the series but will be raring to go ahead of Thursday’s opening ODI in Lucknow.
The series was part of the ICC Super League which determines direct qualification for the 2023 Cricket World Cup in India.
The Proteas will be looking to pick up vital points and opener Malan is eager to contribute with the bat this week.
“You can expect my best efforts and all of me. It’s the best I can do and control. You can’t control the results, but you can control the effort,” Malan told reporters on Wednesday.
“So hopefully, I can put in good performances to help us qualify for the World Cup.”
SA are currently 11th in the ICC Super League standings, with only the top eight teams getting direct entry into the World Cup. The teams still looking to qualify will have to play in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier along with five associate teams.
Malan hopes that the Proteas can raise their game against a formidable Indian side and make their World Cup qualification a bit easier.
“We’re pretty clear on how we want to approach things, we want to be in a submarine and all of these things are outside of our control,” he said.
“We want to keep out the outside noise, we want to keep in a good space. We’re just being positive, there’s a lot going around but that’s life.
“Everyone knows how important the next eight games are for the Proteas, we try and maximise the points from all the matches. Since the World Cup is in India, it’s nice to get good prep and put in good performances to hopefully join the plane so it’s good to play in these conditions.”
Proteas showing out of touch Bavuma ‘some love’, confident he can regain form in ODIs
With the quick turnaround between formats, Malan hopes that the Proteas’ 49-run T20 victory on Tuesday will rub off on the one-day side.
“I was watching from the outside to see how the guys did in the T20s. It was great to end off with the win in the T20 series, so it’s good to get momentum for the T20 World Cup,” said Malan.
“They’re in a good space and India are one of the best in the world, you can’t win them all, but the guys are in good spirit.”
Play on Thursday starts at 10:00 SA time.
South African ODI team v India:
Temba Bavuma (captain), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi.
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